


Here We Go Again

by orphan_account



Series: The Weirdos of Hawkins [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Characters trying to cope, Hopper's got a cool friend, I don't know what else, Some Romance, These tags are not in order, pretty much everyone, the lab
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-12-24 17:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 55,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12017424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mike Wheeler disappears exactly one year after Will goes missing. Things spiral out of control from there...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is a sequel to the first part in this series but could technically be read alone.

**November 6, 1984**

The party was over and everyone had left. Mike Wheeler headed upstairs to get ready for bed. He was in a good mood. Life was looking up. He was starting to get over El, or at least he thought he was, and Will was back home and improving with each day.

"Good night Nancy," he said poking his head into her room. Their relationship had improved so much, to the point where Nancy just smiled and said good night, instead of 'get out of here Mike!' which would have been typical just a year ago.

Mike took a shower, belting out an awful rendition of _Born in the U.S.A_., and got into bed. He shut the lights and fell asleep. Moments later, or so it seemed to Mike, he awoke suddenly. He couldn't remember what it was he'd been dreaming about but he felt unsettled and his throat was dry. He got out of bed and headed down to the kitchen for a drink. The house was completely still and Mike was surprised to find that it was already three in the morning.

On a whim he slipped outside, into the chilly November night, hoping the cold would serve to clear his head. He hugged himself against a gust of wind and watched the sprinkler do its work. Then he felt goosebumps on his neck. Something wasn't right, he could feel it. Too late, Mike turned around and realized that the lights were flickering…

* * *

 

Karen finished frying some bacon strips.

"Where is he? He's usually up pretty early." She said to no one in particular as she put the food down on the kitchen table.

Karen headed upstairs and knocked on Mike's door again. "Mike! Get up." There was no response.

"Mike, I'm coming in." She opened the door. His bed was empty but his backpack was still there. Karen struggled to control the panic that was already starting to take hold of her. She was on high alert ever since Will's disappearance a year ago. _Ok. Calm down. There's probably a reasonable explanation for this. He could just be in the bathroom._ But when she checked the bathroom, it was empty. She quickly checked the other three bedrooms and the pit in her stomach deepened.

Karen came back downstairs, and, not wanting to worry the others, she casually slipped down to the basement. The room appeared to be empty, but Karen searched every nook and cranny just to be sure. _They hid a girl down here for a week, so anything's possible._ But in her heart, Karen knew that Mike wasn't hiding. Why would he?

She came back upstairs and quickly checked the living room, dining room, bathroom, and even the laundry room. She went outside and her heart sank even further. His bike was right there. Mike never went anywhere without his bike.

Karen headed back inside, now in full panic mode. Nancy immediately noticed the expression on her face.

"What's wrong Mom?"

"Mike. He's missing. I checked his room, his backpack's still there. He wouldn't go to school without it. I checked the whole house. Nothing. His bike is still outside so he couldn't have gone anywhere. He just vanished." She collapsed in a chair, her head in her hands.

Nancy patted her back. She and Karen were also getting along a lot better. Her mom was not half as bad as she originally thought. Karen hadn't really freaked out at her about Steve and now she literally smiled when she saw Jonathan and her together.

"Who was the last to see him?" Nancy asked.

Karen looked up, the lines in her face more obvious than usual. "Uh…I don't know. We were all busy with the party. I didn't even say goodnight to him. I cleaned up and went to sleep."

"He popped in to tell me goodnight. That was about eleven." Nancy said, thinking. "And then I think he went to sleep. But who knows?"

Ted finally looked up from the paper he was reading. "Is something wrong with Mike?" he asked.

Karen struggled to control herself. "Yes, Ted. Something is very wrong with Mike. He's missing."

Nancy wanted to get away quickly, before they got into it. "Uh, I'm gonna go check around again and see if I can find anything." She was about to leave, when she saw Holly's face. Nancy turned back, scooped her up, and then left the room. _She shouldn't be exposed to this kind of stuff so young_.

Nancy was nervous. Where _the hell is he? This can't be happening_. "Come on Holly, let's look for Mike."

"Lights." Holly said.

"What?" Nancy asked absentmindedly. _Could he have somehow slipped off at night? Why would he do that? He seemed to be in a decent mood_. She had a really bad feeling about this. _This has something to do with the Upside Down_ , was her only logical conclusion. A stab of dread hit her. _He can't be…_

"Lights." Holly repeated.

Nancy perked up. She'd never quite gotten over the horror of that night at Jonathan's house, fighting the monster, and perhaps the most vivid images of that episode, besides for the monster of course, were those colorful Christmas lights, flashing eerily. She could see them in her mind right now. "What about lights, Holly?"

"Yesterday, the lights were working bad." Holly said.

"What do you mean, Holly. Were they flashing? Turning on and off?" Holly nodded and Nancy moaned.

"When was this? At night?"

Again Holly nodded. "Outside," she added.

Nancy knew that continuing the search was futile. Mike was gone. She collapsed in the hallway outside his room, burying her face in her hands. There were no tears. It didn't really seem real. She half expected Mike to walk out of his room right now and give her a strange look. That didn't happen. Instead she heard her mom's raised voice from downstairs.

"I can't believe you Ted! Do you give a damn about anything!..."

Nancy took Holly into her room and slammed the door. She definitely wasn't going to school today. Holly climbed into her bed, shoes on and hands dirty. Nancy didn't blink. Her mind was racing. _We're gonna fall apart. We're falling apart already. I need to find Mike. I can't lose him. What do I do?_ She could still hear her mom yelling so she turned on some music to drown out the sound. She sat on her bed, trying desperately to think of something, when there was a knock on the door.

Nancy opened it and found Karen standing there.

"I'm sorry Nancy. I just…I can't really help myself."

Nancy dismissed Karen's words with a wave of her hand. _Something is up with Mom. It's not just Mike_. She hated seeing her mom in a vulnerable state. It made the situation all the worse. Karen was always poised and in control. If she was freaking out then things were bad.

"Ok, thanks for looking after Holly. Do you plan on going to school?"

Nancy shook her head. "I can't. What are we doing?"

"I think we'll head to the station, if you want to come along. I just called the Byers, Hendersons, and Sinclairs, none of them have any idea where he is. I called the school and he's not there. It's time to go to the police. If anyone will know what to do, it'll be Hopper." Karen said.

Nancy quickly threw on her jacket. "Ok, let's go."

She headed downstairs and noted that Ted had left the house. _I can't frickin' believe Dad. Running away at a time like this._

* * *

 

Hopper was in the middle of a perfect morning. He was on his third cup of coffee and was just starting the contemplation. He readjusted the pictures on his desk; one of him and his parents, one of Sarah and him, and one recent addition, a picture of Will and him at the hospital. The kid adored him, and there was something about Will that Hopper liked. _Kid never really had a Dad,_ he thought. _He could use…_

Hopper cleared his throat, trying to rid his mind of these dangerous thoughts, and turned to some business. He picked up a couple of reports that Flo had shoved in his face the moment he'd walked into the station.

"Hmmm," was all he could muster to the first statement which included some very baffling circumstances surrounding a vandalized 'Mondale for President' lawn sign. _Probably some kids messing around. The election's over anyway. Who cares?_

He moved on to the next report. This one was even better. Henry Pearson complaining about some teens smoking weed next door. This was the second time in as many weeks he'd complained about this. _I'll send Callaghan down there to handle the situation,_ Hopper thought smirking. He leaned back in his chair, and sighed contentedly. No news was good news in law enforcement. He pulled out a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

No sick kids. No disappearing ones either. No monsters. No alternate universes. No deaths. _Maybe I should move back to New York…_

He was just dozing off when Flo knocked on his open office door.

"Sleeping on the job now, are we?"

Hopper took his feet off his desk. "What is it?" he asked, bored. Flo walked in and slapped a new report down in front of him.

"Another missing kid. Mike Wheeler. Mrs. Wheeler and her daughter are waiting to speak to you right now." She pulled the cigarette out of his mouth before exiting the room.

Hopper sighed as he looked at the statement. _Here we go again_. _Why does it always have to be the kids? It makes everything so much harder._ He thought of Karen and Nancy, both of whom he'd gotten to know a bit better over the summer. He thought of Mike. The kid wouldn't run off. This was another Hawkins Lab case. Hopper shuddered, thinking of that place, of the Upside Down. The last thing he wanted to do was to get entangled with them again. But that was his job.

Hopper gritted his teeth and walked out into the main room. Karen and Nancy immediately stood up when they saw him. He gestured for them to follow him into his office.

"Have a seat." He said, closing the door.

Karen sat, Nancy remained standing. Hopper settled into his chair. This was going to take a while.

"Ok, give me the details. Anything you know. Anything you think might be important."

Karen took a deep breath and then started talking. "Ok. You were there last night, you saw him just like we all did. He was doing fine. He was in a good mood. After the party, I cleaned up and headed straight for bed. The last time any of us saw him, was at eleven. He was saying good night to Nancy. This morning I got up, I banged on his door like I always do. He didn't come down to breakfast so I went back upstairs and checked his room. The bed was unmade, which means he probably slept in it. His backpack was there so I knew he hadn't gone to school. I searched the rest of the house, there was no sign of him and his bike was out back so he didn't just run off." Karen finished.

Hopper lit another cigarette. "Is that everything? Did you see anything suspicious? Anything that could give us a clue?"

Karen shook her head, but Nancy spoke up. She was leaning against the wall, her arms folded. "I might know something. I was talking to Holly about Mike and she kept saying 'lights'. I asked her about it and it sounds like she saw lights flashing outside last night."

"Where is Holly?"

"We dropped her off at kindergarten on our way here." Karen answered.

"Can we believe what she says?" Hopper asked.

"I don't see why not." Said Karen.

"Ok, guys. I'm not gonna bullshit you. This stinks of Hawkins Lab. Normally I'd spend days getting statements from everybody but after Will, I don't think we have time for that. I'm gonna come over to your place and see if I can find anything, then we'll figure out a plan of action."

They got up and left the station.


	2. Chapter 2

Hopper pulled up outside the Wheelers' house followed closely by Karen and Nancy. They went up to Mike's bedroom and Hopper had a look around, asking questions here and there. Finally he turned to Nancy. "Did you say that Holly saw the lights flickering outside?"

"Yeah. At least that's what she said."

Hopper led the way back downstairs and headed outside. He looked around.

"Are these lights on automatic?" He asked, pointing up to the lamps that flanked the door.

"Yeah, I think they are."

"Can you turn them on for me?"

Karen went inside and flipped the switch. When she came back out, she paused. "I did just turn them on."

Hopper reached up, opened the kerosene-lamp fixture and pulled out the bulb. "Fried. Just like I thought."

"Well, what does that mean?" Karen asked.

"It means that we're dealing with the Lab. This confirms it. This thing electrified two phones at Joyce's place last year."

"But where is he?! Are you going to be able to find him?" Karen was getting desperate. Throughout Will's time in the hospital, she'd been brought up to date, bit by bit, of the whole Upside Down, alternate dimension saga. She didn't really get it then, and now it frightened her. _This is ridiculous._ _My son is stuck somewhere in an alternate universe._ And then that nagging voice in her head: _If he's still alive._

"I don't know. I need to think." Hopper answered, rubbing his forehead. "I thought we were finished with this shit." He sat down on the hood of his car, looking around. "Listen Mrs. Wheeler, I-"

"Karen. Please just call me Karen. Let's not act like we don't know each other." Karen interrupted.

"Ok. Karen, this is gonna be dangerous. I have no idea what we're dealing with this time around. All I know is that these people are killers. They won't hesitate to kill anyone in the way. That's why you need to stay out of it. I will tell you everything I know. He's your son and you'll know anything as soon as I do. But you need to let me handle this."

Karen just put her hand over her mouth, stifling a sob. "Hopper, I can't lose my son." She said finally.

"I know. I know." He responded calmly. _Like I said, why does it always have to be the kids?_ He cleared his throat. "OK, listen up. I need everyone involved in the Will thing here tonight at eight, especially Will. We need to figure out everything we know, pool our resources, and figure out where we go from here. I have an old friend, ex-marine, who owes me a favor. I'm gonna call him in. One advantage we have over last time is that hopefully we can keep this quiet, ok? Don't tell anyone who isn't involved, alright?"

Karen nodded, turning around. Hopper saw the dejected slump in her shoulders. "Hey, Karen. We got Will back; we'll do our damned best to get Mike back too."

Nancy finally spoke. "We didn't get Barb back though." She knew she shouldn't have but she couldn't help it. Hopper gave her such an ugly look that she bit her lip.

"We will do our best. That's all we _can_ do." He said before getting into his car and driving off.

* * *

 

Karen and Nancy paced around the house restlessly for a couple of hours. Finally Karen stood up.

"I'm going to pick up Holly now, do you want to come?"

Nancy shook her head from where she sat hunched on the couch in the living room. Karen left the house and Nancy suspected that she just wanted to get away. Holly didn't get out of school for another hour at least.

She turned on the TV and stared at the screen listlessly for a few minutes before shutting it off in disgust. Her stomach was in knots and she felt like she was going to vomit. _Please be ok, Mike. Please be ok, Mike. Please be ok._ Her fingernails dug into her thighs as she struggled to control the tension that shook her body. _I need to get out of here too,_ she decided. Nancy stood up and left the house, the door slamming shut behind her. She briefly considered taking Mike's bike but decided against it. She walked down the street, her hands jammed in her jacket's pockets, her short ponytail swishing, and her jaw set. Gloria Jones, the nosy old woman who lived a couple of houses down and spent most of her day out on her front porch, hailed her.

"Hey! Nancy! What are you so hot about, girl? Your boy dump you?"

Nancy ignored her and continued working. She usually stopped to chat with Gloria but not today. She wandered around the familiar, sleepy suburban streets for a couple hours before returning homes.

* * *

 

Nancy was preparing a meat pie in the kitchen when Karen walked in with Holly.

"Hi." She said shortly.

Karen just nodded. "I'm going to call the others and tell them to get here by eight. Nancy nodded and they both fell silent. What was there to say?

An hour later, there was some loud pounding on the front door. "I'll get it," Nancy said, jumping up. She opened the door and found Dustin and Lucas standing there.

"Is Mike here?" Dustin asked eagerly.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?" Lucas asked.

Nancy sighed. "Come in, guys. We need to talk." They followed her into the kitchen where she filled them in on everything.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." Dustin groaned. "It has Mike now."

Lucas was quiet. This hit close to home. There was something about Will that made it seem natural for him to go missing; he was very sensitive and bad things always seemed to happen to him. But Mike? Mike was the leader of their group. He always knew what to do and was so practical. _And he's my best friend._

They made a very unhappy group, sitting in silence in the Wheelers' kitchen, as the sun set outside. After half an hour, they heard tires crunching, and so they hurried out to greet the newcomers. It was Joyce, Jonathan and Will.

Nancy watched as Jonathan helped Will out of the car and up the walkway, and she felt a lump in her throat. _Will I ever see_ my _brother again? Will I ever get to help him out again?_ She wasn't that close with Mike, nothing like Jonathan and Will, but she loved him just as much, and the thought of losing him was too much to bear.

Joyce hugged Karen and they immediately got to talking, as they headed inside. Will, Dustin and Lucas formed their own group, and, muttering in hushed whispers, followed the adults into the house. That left Nancy alone with Jonathan.

Without a word, she sat down on the steps and he followed suit. A moment passed and then she felt his arm slip around her shoulder. She took a sharp intake of breath, trying to steady herself against the tears that threatened to spill. "Jonathan, I-" her voice cracked.

Jonathan took her hand in his. He could feel her trembling. "I know." he said. "I…I'm sorry."

Nancy squeezed his hand hard as the tears spilled over. "I can't lose him." she gasped. "He's what holds us together. I can't lose him."

Jonathan looked at her, her head was bent over. "Nancy, look at me." She did and, in the dim evening light, Jonathan could see her eyes glistening. She was even more beautiful when she was crying. "I know how bad it hurts." he continued, and she nodded. If anyone else had tried to say that to her, Nancy probably would have erupted, but with Jonathan, it was entirely true. "I…whenever you need me, Nancy, I'm here. Whatever happens, I'm here for you, ok?" she nodded again.

"I…I'm glad I have you." Nancy whispered as she laid her head down on Jonathan's shoulder. Jonathan just held her a little tighter. They sat there, together, for what felt like hours. No one came out to check on them, they wanted to give the two, privacy. Finally, when the sky was completely black, and the wind had picked up, Hopper pulled up in an unmarked car. Jonathan and Nancy stood up.

"Whoa!" was the first thing Nancy said when she saw Hopper's companion. He was at least 6'5, and built like a bear, with massive shoulders and arms, his red hair in a severe buzz cut. He had a weathered, clean-shaven face, and sharp grey eyes, that bore a hole through you. He was not the kind of man you messed around with.

"Evenin' miss." He had a southern drawl and his voice was a lot softer than they'd expected. He held out a hand. "Grayson Riley, ex-marine." Nancy reached out and shook his hand.

"Nancy Wheeler, uh...moody teenager." He let out a laugh and turned to address Jonathan, leaving Nancy massaging her hand.

Hopper walked up. "Alright, enough of that, charmer. We have some work to do and it's pretty late." They headed inside and Riley introduced himself to everyone.

"He's as big as a troll." Dustin whispered to the others, in awe.

"Bigger," Will said.

They all sat down in the dining room, scattered around the table.

"Ok," Hopper began. "I filled Riley in on what we know. Now, I'm gonna need you, Will, to tell me what happened the night you disappeared. Don't leave anything out."

Will, looked at Joyce, his eyes wide and frightened. He'd never spoken about his experience in the Upside Down. His mom kept trying to convince him to talk to someone, but just the thought of it made him shiver. _And now I need to discuss it in front of all these people._

Hopper seemed to read his mind. "I know it may be tough, kid, but it might help us find Mike."

Will nodded and started talking. "I was biking down Mirkwood that night, and I saw that thing, we call it the Demogorgon now. I dropped my bike and ran home…" He told them all about it. He told them about getting the gun and the lights flashing. He told them about how he woke up in the Upside Down, in that same spot, but like a nightmare. How the Demogorgon was hunting him and how he hid from it for days. How he could hear his mom. How cold and toxic it was. How he felt like he was dying. He told them about the Demogorgon finally finding him and stuffing that thing down his throat.

They all listened, horrified by the account. Karen could barely contain herself. _Mike is now going through this! We need to do something!_

Will finished and went quiet. He was imagining the Demogorgon hunting his best friend. A tear ran down his face and Joyce hugged him.

Hopper leaned back, contemplating Will's tale. Then he turned to Nancy and Jonathan. "What do you guys have to add? I know Nancy was in the Upside Down, and you got up close and personal with our monster."

They told him what they knew. He was most interested in the tree where the seam to the alternate dimension had appeared.

"I recently went looking for it again." Jonathan said. "Couldn't find anything. I think it can create portals wherever it wants and they seal automatically."

Hopper nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking it was something like that." Next he turned his attention to Dustin and Lucas and questioned them about the events at the school. They tried to describe what happened. How Eleven had seemed to banish the Demogorgon, and how she just disappeared along with it.

Hopper sighed again, this time a lot louder. "Ok. Obviously Riley and I need to get to the Upside Down somehow. The problem is that the only gate we know about is inside Hawkins Lab. We don't want to involve them. We have no idea what the state of this place is right now. It could be significantly different than last time. I thought this nightmare was over, no one's disappeared in nearly a year, but obviously this thing is back."

"Why can't we involve the Lab?" Karen asked.

"Because I don't trust them. I don't trust them one bit." Hopper answered.

"Well, maybe they can bring Mike back. That's all I want."

Hopper looked her in the eye. "You want him back alive. They'll make sure that doesn't happen. They only allowed us in because they assumed Will was dead and that we were going the same way. Joyce and I were never meant to get out of that hell."

"Here's what's gonna happen." he continued, looking them each in the eye in turn. "Riley and I are going to go scope out the Lab tonight, see what we can find. He's got some equipment that may go a long way in getting a handle on the situation. None of you are going to follow us. None of you are going to go looking for Mike tonight. Heck, none of you should leave your houses tonight. Am I clear?"

He waited for each of them to nod before continuing. "I'll report back to you guys here as soon as I can." He turned to address the adults. "Don't leave any of the kids alone. We don't know what we're dealing with but each time someone's gone missing, they've been alone."

Then he turned to Dustin and Lucas. "What are you guys gonna do tonight?"

They looked at him blankly, and Joyce spoke. "They can come over to our place, if it's ok with their parents." The boys nodded their agreement and headed to the kitchen to call home.

That settled, Hopper got up to leave. He spoke to Karen for a couple of minutes before heading to the door, followed by Riley. "Alright guys, stay alert, and you should be ok." He said, turning back. Then he and his beefy companion left the house.

 

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

After Hopper left, they sat around talking in hushed tones for a while. No one knew what to do and no one wanted to leave. They felt somewhat safe in each others' company and didn't want to separate. Finally, at half past ten, Joyce got up. "Alright, it's getting late boys, we gotta go."

She looked at Karen. "If you need anything just call." She said, her hand on the other woman's arm.

Karen nodded. "Of course," she said, knowing full well that she wouldn't. Joyce and the boys headed for the door, but Jonathan lingered.

"Nancy, I…are you gonna be okay tonight?" he asked her, concerned.

She looked up at him and managed a small smile. "Yeah, yeah I will."

Jonathan was mesmerized by her eyes, they were so big and beautiful, even while full of sadness. It seemed like he just kept falling deeper and deeper in love the more they hung out together. He was very conscious of Karen watching, though, so he just enfolded her in a hug. Nancy wrapped her hands around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

"Just call me if you need to, ok? I can come pick you up if you want to talk. I probably won't sleep anyway." He whispered to her. She mumbled something in response but Jonathan couldn't make out what it was. Nancy didn't want to let go so Jonathan just stood there, holding her, feeling a tad stupid.

Finally, after a couple of minutes had passed, she pulled back. "Go." She said.

Jonathan's hand lingered on her arm but he nodded and left.

* * *

 

The ride back to the Byers was uncomfortable and quiet. They all exited the car without a word and traipsed into the house. Will collapsed on the couch immediately. He had just gotten out of the hospital a day ago, and he was drained. Not just physically but emotionally too. Mike was his first and best friend. Will's mind wandered back to the day he and Mike had met. It had been on the first day of Elementary school and he'd been ready to cry, he was so lonely and disoriented. But then Mike had come over and asked him to sit with him. Just like that he'd become friends with Mike, and with Lucas, by extension. They'd never looked back from there. Will knew how different, and how much worse, his life would be if he didn't have his friends.

He looked up. Dustin and Lucas were setting up shop, spreading out blankets and pillows on the floor. Will's eyes were closing so he quickly got up to go change into his PJs. Normally, sleepovers were fun affairs, but tonight the mood was somber, like their house was a bunker and they were all huddling there for protection. Will settled himself back on the couch and almost immediately felt himself falling asleep.

Dustin and Lucas were talking:

"Do you think he's dead or do you think he's stuck in the Upside Down?" Lucas asked Dustin.

"I don't know. In the Vale of Shadows, you can't last long. It's crazy that Will lasted for five days." Dustin whispered back. "Look at him. He's still sick from it." They both stared at Will for a minute. He was sleeping and his face was peaceful looking but you couldn't really miss the signs of the strain he'd been under over the last year, beginning with his bare head, and skeletal frame. "We need to do something."

"What can we do? Did you see that guy the Chief brought, he's a giant! If they can't do anything, then what can we do?" Lucas answered.

Dustin went quiet. Lucas was making sense but he felt like they needed to do _something_.

* * *

 

Nancy sat down at the dining room table and put her head down. The whole night stretched out before her and she sighed. She wasn't even going to bother trying to fall asleep, it was pointless. Instead, she decided to get busy. It was a strange habit of hers, and Nancy couldn't really remember when it had started, but whenever she was stressed, she found that messing around in the kitchen helped her out.

Nancy got up. "Mom, why don't you try to get some sleep?"

Karen looked up from where she was pretending to read. "I don't think I can."

"Uh, huh, I know what you mean." she said. "I'm gonna be in the kitchen."

Karen nodded and Nancy headed into the kitchen. She got to work and turned on the radio to the rock station. She wasn't a big fan of rock but one thing it wasn't was depressing, and the last thing Nancy wanted to do now was listen to depressing music. She was in for an unpleasant surprise though, as _Bohemian Rhapsody_ had just started playing. Nancy had heard the song countless times but this time, she actually listened to the lyrics and found chills running down her back. _This is just plain freaky._

She flipped to a few other stations but they were all on Madonna, who Nancy abhorred. Back to the rock station it was. _Kashmir_ was now playing. _This is more like it,_ She thought, as she poured a cup of sugar. Nancy buried herself in teaspoons and cups, finding a little relief from the weight that had settled in her stomach. _At least we'll have stuff to eat_ , she thought ruefully.

* * *

 

Will woke up suddenly. Dustin was snoring loudly and Lucas was tossing and turning. Will could just make out the thick black alphabet painted on the wall. They'd meant to repaint, but then he'd been hospitalized and they hadn't gotten around to doing it. It freaked Will out, seeing those letters. He remembered being stuck in the Upside Down, trying to communicate with his mom through them. _Now Mike's stuck there._

There was a crack of thunder outside and Will jumped, his heart pounding. He could hear leaves crunching outside and he tensed, bringing his blanket up to his neck. The doorknob turned and Will shut his eyes, fearing the worst. But when he opened them, he let out a sigh of relief, it was just Jonathan.

"What's up, Will? You look like hell." Jonathan said, as he turned on a lamp.

"Nothing, I just woke up and I heard noise outside. I freaked out." He said, trying to brush it off. "What were you doing outside?"

"Nothing. Just couldn't sleep." Jonathan answered, heading back to his room. "You're good?"

"Yeah." Will said. A couple minutes later, he could hear the sound of muffled music coming from Jonathan's room and he relaxed. It was reassuring to know that someone was up.

* * *

 

Hopper and Riley pulled over into the forest that bordered Mirkwood. "We better go on foot from here."

Riley considered himself a pretty tough guy but this story was unsettling. He'd fought in the trenches in Vietnam, dodging death by an inch, too many times to count, but he'd never had to deal with inter-dimensional monsters. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, for now at least." Hopper said, not sounding sure of himself at all.

They made their way through the forest, Hopper carrying a flashlight and Riley carrying a pack full of gear. After twenty minutes of walking in silence, rain started to fall and they arrived at the gate.

"God damn it!" Hopper exclaimed. "They electrified the gate!"

"Shit! They must be hiding something big." Riley said, examining the electric fence. "There's only one thing for it, we go under." Hopper nodded and the two of them started digging. Lucky for them, it had been raining all October so the soil was quite soft.

They dug deeper and deeper but the gate was still there. "How far down does this go?" Hopper asked, frustrated. But just as he spoke, a gap appeared between the bottom of the fence and where Hopper was digging. "Bingo."

They opened up a sizable ditch and slipped across silently. Then they made their way stealthily through the forest that encircled Hawkins Lab.

"God, this place is like the CIA." Riley commented when he saw the guards that now patrolled the building.

"That's because it is. Or at least it's something like that. It's definitely government anyway." Hopper said, scanning the area. "They've upgraded. Last time it was just cameras, no visible guards. This place is crawling. Damn it!"

They circled the building, looking for an opening, but found none. Deflated, they came around the front again, and, lying flat on their stomachs, they watched the guards, trying desperately to come up with a plan.

Suddenly Hopper jumped up. "F# $!" he cried and then immediately covered his mouth. He froze, his eyes darting around, seeing if they'd heard him, but they were too busy. Hopper dropped back down beside Riley, his breathing heavy.

"Goddammit Jim! You almost gave us away! What is it?" Riley asked him, angrily.

"See that guy over there?" Hopper said, pointing. "His name's Brenner and he's supposed to be dead. I checked the government records, he's listed as deceased. That guy, right there, is behind all this. He's a monster. He tortured that kid, Eleven, I told you about. That bastard is pure evil, he's got no conscience and I thought he was gone. I would pay a lot of money to pull the trigger myself. This makes everything more complicated. "

Riley looked at Brenner, and even at a distance, he felt chills run down his back, seeing the man's face. "What happened to him?" He asked Hopper. Brenner's face was disfigured. He had slashes running down the left side, and the right was badly pockmarked, and was an angry shade of red. He also appeared to walk with a limp.

"That must be the monster's doing. We thought he'd been killed but apparently the son of a bitch survived."

They continued watching, but Hopper soon got up. "Let's go."

"What?"

"He's gonna leave soon and I want to tail him." They hurried back to the gate and slipped under, hastily refilling the ditch they'd made. Then they raced back to the car. Just as they burst out of the woods, they spotted a pair of taillights up the road, disappearing quickly.

"Finally, some luck." Hopper exclaimed as they jumped into the car and took off. "Ok, you're gonna tail him, and I'll keep track of where we are." he told Riley and they switched seats.

"Shut the goddamn lights off!" Riley barked. Hopper did, but the back ones stayed on.

"Stop the car a second." Hopper jumped out, ran around to the back of the car, and punched out the taillights. Then he jumped back in and they were off again. They followed the Hawkins Lab van into town, and onto the freeway. After half an hour, the van took an exit and they followed. They wound their way down one deserted road after another, completely invisible to their targets, as they were traveling dark and the roads were hardly lit. The rain helped too. Finally the car turned into a narrow path a good distance ahead.

"Okay, we need to stop here and dump the car." They got out and sneaked up to the turnoff. There were a couple of armed guards, manning a large metal gate that blocked the whole road.

"Back into the forest it is." Hopper sighed. "Let's go, but be careful. I don't know these woods. They plunged into the dense forest and barely a minute in, came upon a chain link fence, splattered with 'keep out' signs. They laughed and hopped over the barrier. They trekked for another twenty minutes before hitting the next obstacle: a ten foot high, solid brick wall.

"Yeah, nothing to see here…" Riley said rolling his eyes before hoisting himself up. He gave Hopper a hand and they continued, pushing further into the forest. Before long, they hit upon the third barrier: another electrified fence, with barbed wire to boot. They looked at each other, drenched in sweat and rain, their clothes caked in mud, and they immediately dropped down and started digging. This time, they reached the bottom right away and were able to bypass the fence fairly quickly.

"They're getting careless." Riley joked.

Hopper was a little more serious. "They don't expect visitors like us here. These are probably just to keep the neighbors out. As far as they know, no one has any idea about this place."

Riley turned grim. There had to be something pretty sinister going on if all this security was just to keep the locals away.

* * *

 

Mike Wheeler opened his eyes. He was lying face down on something squashy and his head was cloudy. _Where am I? What's going on? I was just going to get a drink, and I went outside…the lights! The lights were blinking. Which means_ …He looked up and panic set in. _I'm in the Upside Down. This looks exactly like Will described it._

Mike jumped up and became aware that he was still in his pajamas and that he was barefoot. He looked around wildly, for any sign of the Demogorgon, but he couldn't see it. The air was thick but cold and Mike was having trouble breathing. He gasped for air, desperately trying to get some oxygen, but that only made things worse so he slowed his breathing down. Mike resisted the urge to scream out, afraid that doing so would alert the monster to his presence.

He was about to start exploring when he spotted some moving shapes, to his left. Mike froze, terrified that the Demogorgon had found him. But as they came closer, he saw that they were human. They were covered from head to toe in baggy black jumpsuits, besides for where Mike assumed their eyes were, where they wore goggles, also with black lenses. He was so relieved to see them that he jumped out from the lamppost he'd been hiding behind, and called out. Too late, he noticed the 'Hawkins Lab' emblems on the arm of their suits.


	4. Chapter 4

Hopper and Riley pushed further and further into the forest.

"How many miles do you think we've walked?" Riley asked.

"Probably around three. This place is massive." Hopper answered. Finally, they cleared the forest, and stopped.

"Whoa!" was all Riley could manage. They were at the edge of a large, paved clearing that housed three modern buildings, none of which had any windows. There were five armored jeeps parked outside the largest building, a six-story monstrosity, and armed guards outside the entrances of all three.

"Holy shit! This place is a fortress." Hopper exclaimed. "Look at those guys."

"Yeah, they got AKs. Jesus."

"OK, let's get to work. Obviously we can't infiltrate now, we'd get crushed, so let's set up the cameras." Hopper said. The two got to work, positioning cameras in the trees, trying to get the best view of the area. They covered the cameras with camouflage netting, and stepped back, surveying their work.

"What do you think?" Hopper asked his companion.

"Should be okay. Especially if they're not looking for it." He answered.

"How long did you say these can run for?"

"We should be good for a week, at least." Riley said.

They stood around, watching the guards and examining the buildings, hesitant to leave.

"These buildings look like prisons. I really don't like this. I have a feeling that this is where our answers are." Hopper remarked. Riley nodded in agreement. Finally, they had enough, and they headed back. They got to the electric fence and had to search for a while before they found the ditch they'd dug. Hopper slipped under, narrowly avoiding an unpleasant electric shock, followed by Riley, and the two spent a while refilling the ditch carefully. From there it was a quick hike out of the forest and back to the car.

They were drenched, filthy, and tired, but they felt accomplished. Hopper started the car, and they raced back to Hawkins, well over the speed limit.

"We still need to watch the Lab carefully. I want to go out there during the day tomorrow and poke around." Hopper said.

Riley spoke up. "I'll see if I can get myself in there. I know some people."

They got back to Hopper's cabin at half past three, where they immediately hit the sack.

* * *

 

Nancy jerked awake. She was sitting slumped over the kitchen table, her mouth was dry, and the radio was blasting out _Anarchy in the UK_. Nancy got up and shut it off, rather violently, before taking a much needed drink of water. She glanced at the clock, it read 4:08. _I've been sleeping for hours_. She walked into the living room and found Karen asleep on the couch. Nancy was about to head upstairs when she heard footsteps coming down. She paused, her mind thinking wildly of whom it could possibly be, and then it came to her. _Dad._

Sure enough, a moment later, Ted appeared and Nancy felt her blood boiling.

"Where were you?" she asked rather loudly.

"Oh! Nancy." He hadn't noticed her.

"Where were you?" she repeated, even louder this time.

He headed to the kitchen, trying to avoid her, but she was having none of it. Nancy followed him in. "Mike is missing. This isn't a joke. Where were you last night, while the rest of us are going crazy here?"

Ted turned to face her. "Nancy, I don't think this is the right time to…"

"Yes it is. You're still not answering my question. We're all worried sick, we're meeting with the chief, and you're not even here! We deserve an explanation." Nancy countered. She knew that she was tired and disoriented, but she was too angry to care. _What kind of guy isn't with their family during something like this_?

"I was out driving, ok Nancy? Is that ok?" Ted said defensively. He hadn't expected to be confronted at four in the morning by his teenage daughter. He just wanted a cup of coffee.

"Is that ok?! Are you kidding me?! While we're here, trying to come up with a plan to save Mike's life, you're 'out driving'?! What kind of a shitty guy are you?"

Ted spun around, his face flushed. "You need to shut your mouth now, young lady." He said, warningly. What Nancy had said, touched a raw nerve and he found himself angrier than he'd been in a while.

"Or what? What are you gonna do to me? You need to face yourself, Dad. You're supposed to be here with us. Not hiding out in your car! Mom's falling apart, and I need to take care of her, when that should be your job! You know I'm right!"

"That's between your mother and me." He said lamely, adding a packet of sugar to his coffee.

Nancy shook her head in disgust. "You're…you're unbelievable. I didn't know you were such a…such a coward." She turned around and went upstairs to take a shower. Lying in bed, a half hour later, she still found herself furious with her father, but regretting her outburst a bit. _Well, if it gets him to stick around then it's worth it._

* * *

 

Lucas, Dustin and Will were woken up by Joyce.

"Come on boys, time for school." They got up, bleary-eyed and yawning.

"Oh, shit! I need a shower." Dustin said looking at himself in the bathroom mirror. His hair was sticking out in every direction and his skin was blotchy. Lucas just laughed at him. They got dressed and Jonathan drove them to school.

 

-

Once they'd left, Will got up and took a cocktail of drugs with his breakfast. Joyce hugged him quickly on her way out.

"Ok, honey, I've got to go. Larry's gonna be here soon and he'll stay with you." Larry was a neighbor of theirs who had agreed to stay with Will while Joyce was at work and Jonathan at school. Sure enough, Larry Mercer arrived twenty minutes later, wearing his trademark A-2 jacket.

"How ya' doing, Willie?" he asked as soon as Will opened the door.

"Ok," he said, grinning up at him. Larry patted his head, he was like an uncle to Will, and they went inside. He set up shop in the kitchen, with the radio blaring, and a copy of the _Indianapolis Star_ open to the sports section in front of him _._ Will went to his room and tried to find something to occupy himself with. He decided to clean up his room, something he hadn't done in over a year. Will found an old photo album, collecting dust under his bed. He pulled it out and started looking through it. _I remember making this when I was nine_ , he thought. _I look like such a baby_. Will found himself lingering on each picture with Mike in it, wondering where he was now, and whether he was still alive or not. _There must be something I can do. I was in the Upside Down!_

He slammed the album shut and headed for the kitchen.

"Hi, Larry, can I talk to you?"

Larry turned down the radio, where a guy was ranting about Gorbachev, Communism and the Chinese. "Sure son."

"What do you know about the CIA and secret government projects?" Will asked, trying to act innocently.

"What? Geez, Will, I don't know much." He answered, "The government's got all sorts of stuff going on. I remember during WWII, the whole Manhattan project was kept under wraps. I had a friend who worked on it, and didn't even know what the end goal was."

"Yeah, but what about nowadays, like to fight the Russians?" Will pressed.

"I don't really know. You got the Star Wars missile system, but everyone knows about that. There are rumors going around, though. But I don't really know much, I'm not in the service anymore, if I was, I might know a little more." Larry said apologetically. "Is this for a project?"

"No. Just curious. I heard something about Hawkins Lab being a government building."

"Yeah, I heard that too. Honestly, there's something fishy about that place. No one really knows what they do. That's strange, that is." He said, getting pensive.

"I heard that they do experiments there on kids." Will pushed on.

Larry looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Really? Where'd you hear that from?"

Will shrugged.

"Anything you wanna tell me?" Larry asked him. Will shook his head and grinned. "Yeah, I don't know about experimenting on kids, but there's probably something going on."

Will nodded and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

* * *

 

Hopper woke up and looked at the clock. _Shit!_ It was past twelve already. _How did I sleep so late? Why didn't Riley wake me up_? He jumped out of bed and quickly showered and dressed. He walked out into his dining/living room and found a prominent note on the table.

**Got clearance to go 2 the lab. If I'm not back by two then something happened.**

Hopper dropped the note and looked at the clock again. It read 12:28. He sat down to look through the camera feed from the compound. They'd set up a war-room of sorts, with six screens playing live footage from the cameras they'd hidden. Hopper had no idea how they worked but he was glad they did. He hadn't gotten far when he heard a car pulling up. Hopper ran out, grabbing his pistol on the way and switching off the safety.

He sighed in relief when he saw that it was Riley.

"Oh! I was just starting to get worried."

Riley nodded but didn't smile. "I got some news, we need to talk."

They headed inside, and sat down in the kitchen, where Riley grabbed a bite to eat.

"So, I got inside and it was just like you described. Never seen anything like it. Scanners, keypads, and things like that on nearly every door. Radiation signs everywhere. They were in disarray though, so I asked what's going on, and you won't believe it."

He paused and looked Hopper in the eye. "They're shutting the place down. Tomorrow."

Hopper took a deep breath. "So we're right. The compound is their new home."

"Yeah," said Riley, leaning back. "And that's not it. They lied to me about it too. They said they're relocating to somewhere out of state. I pushed him and he said Iowa. That's obviously bullshit."

Hopper nodded. "We have no idea where Mike is, though. Either he's in the Upside Down, whether he's dead or alive, or he's with them, which actually makes things a lot more difficult."

Riley nodded. "So we're going into the lab tomorrow, I'm guessing?"

"Unless something comes up." Hopper said. "Another problem is that we don't know if this gate at the lab is still open. It could be something happened to close it and now we're shut out of the Upside Down."

"Don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds bad." Riley said.

"Alright, get some sleep; I'm guessing you got out pretty early this morning. I'm gonna call the Wheelers and give them a time for an update."

* * *

 

Mike woke up and immediately clutched his head. It was throbbing so badly that he thought he'd be sick. _Is this what a migraine is? Because if it is, then maybe Nancy doesn't exaggerate the pain when she has one_. _Where am I?_ He thought disjointedly. Next, Mike became aware of how utterly fatigued he felt. He didn't think he could support himself if he was standing.

Mike picked his head up, prompting him to retch. He looked around and felt a moment of relief. _I'm in the hospital, right?_ But then he looked a little closer and realized that the room looked nothing like a hospital. It was mostly bare, besides for the bed/table he was on, and a strange machine in the corner. It also had no windows. _This is no hospital._ Mike tried to think back to what had happened _. I woke up in the Upside Down, and then…then what_? Mike thought as hard as he could but couldn't remember what happened next. Then a ridiculous thought occurred to him. _Am I in Hell? Maybe the monster got me and I'm dead. I feel bad enough to be in Hell, but where's the fire?_

Mike looked down and, with a sinking feeling, he saw that his pajamas were gone, replaced by something that looked a lot like what he'd found El wearing. His memory came back to him. _The Bad Men! The Bad Men got me!_ Just as these thoughts swirled through his head, two big men, in black suits, came in.

"Hey, tell Otto he's up. I'm gonna move him." One of them said.

The larger of the two hefted Mike onto his shoulder, while the other went to deliver the news to 'Otto'. Mike nearly blacked out from the pain and the nausea as the burly guy walked down the hallway. He tried to keep track of where they were going, but his head wouldn't allow him to. Eventually, he gave up and just waited for it to end. _Put me down, please just put me down!_ Was all Mike could think.

Finally, they came to a large, steel door, where the guy had to undergo a retina scan, as well as punch in about five codes, before the door opened. When it did, Mike felt himself being dumped on the floor ( _Did I just hear a bone crack?)._ He was vaguely conscious of other people in the room, but he couldn't really get his mind to process them. The last thing Mike was aware of before he passed out was his leg being chained to the wall.

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

They all gathered at the Wheelers' that night. This time, Ted was present, though he mostly just skulked in the corner. It was a somber affair, everyone sat lost in their own thought, waiting for Hopper to arrive. When he did, they all rushed outside to greet him.

"OK, Ok! Let's get inside." He belted out.

They piled back inside and settled in the dining room, where Hopper began:

"Alright, big news. So Riley and I went out to the Lab last night to scout out. We saw someone I thought was dead. It's bad. Brenner's alive."

They all gasped and Karen whimpered into Nancy's shoulder. She remembered Brenner quite clearly. He was so cold. The last thing she wanted was for her boy to be in his hands.

"That's not all," Hopper continued. "We followed Brenner's car and he led us to a compound where we think they're setting up a new operation. This place is really fortified, pretty much impossible to break into. We set cameras up there, in case something interesting happens. Riley's monitoring them right now. Another thing, this is big. We found out that they're shutting down the lab. Sounds like they're moving out tomorrow."

A hushed silence enveloped the room. No one knew what to make of this news.

"What could that mean? Do they have Mike, or is he stuck in the Upside Down?" Karen asked him. "Or is he…is he…"

Hopper put a hand on her arm. "Hey. He's alive. I just know he is. Riley and I are going to go into the lab tomorrow and see what we can find, ok?"

Karen nodded vigorously, trying to stop the tears that kept escaping. Nancy stood beside her, awkwardly patting her back. This was new territory for her, comforting her mother. They weren't the comforting type, and Karen was always so unflappable.

"Now, I want to reiterate what I said last night. Under no circumstances are any of you gonna go out to the lab or try to find Mike yourself, alright?" Hopper said threateningly. "If you have something to say, or you know something, you come to me. Understood?"

Again, they all nodded, although nearly all of them were forming plans in their head. Lucas and Dustin looked at each other as if agreeing on a secret plan. Jonathan looked at Nancy's bowed head, wishing he could do _something._ Ted tried to blend into the wall, wishing that things were back to normal. Will looked down and tried to hide the fact that he was crying.

It came time to leave and there were tearful farewells once again. They were all extremely nervous, with Karen and Nancy nearly at their breaking point. The fear that Mike was dead was getting a little too real.

* * *

 

Nancy lay in her bed, trying to sleep, when she heard some crashes. _Who could that be?_ She got out of bed and traced the sounds to the bathroom, where she tentatively knocked on the door.

"Hello! Who's in there?"

When there was no response, Nancy started panicking. She ran to Holly's room and found Holly sleeping soundly. Then she went to her parents' room. She knocked lightly and then opened the door a crack. There was a large lump on the bed, but just one. Nancy backed out and ran back to the bathroom.

"Mom, is that you?" she asked, her voice shaking. There was no answer again and now Nancy was sure she could hear sobbing and vomiting.

"Mom, what's going on?!" she cried out, frightened. "Please, Mom. Can you open the door?"

Finally, Nancy could take it no more. "I'm coming in Mom, ok?" She picked the lock and opened the door slowly, scared of what she'll find.

"Mom!" she ran over to Karen, who was sitting on the rim of the bathtub, in a nightrobe. "What's happened? Are you ok?!" She knelt down beside her mom and Karen looked at her.

"I'm sorry Nancy." She whispered hoarsely. "You shouldn't see me like this. I'm sorry."

"What's wrong? Are you hurt, Mom?" Nancy was genuinely scared for her mom. She even forgot about Mike for a bit. _What the hell is wrong with her?! Why is she like this? It can't just be Mike, she seems sick and weak!_

"No, I…I'm not hurt, Nancy, I…" Karen looked away, her face full of pain.

"What? Come on, tell me." Nancy realized for a second how sad the situation was and it choked her up, but she quickly forced the tears back down and calmed herself.

"I shouldn't be putting this on you." Karen said, looking at Nancy, who shook her head, urging her mother to continue.

"I…I'm…" Karen took Nancy's face in her hands and looked at her beautiful daughter. She was so proud of her. _She's a woman, not a girl anymore_. Karen looked into her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Nancy."

Nancy's jaw dropped and she went silent, but in her head, it all fit.

"I'm sorry Nancy. I shouldn't have…" Karen said, shaking her head.

"No, Mom. It's…It's okay. I…whoa! I never thought I'd have another sibling." Nancy said. "Wow!"

Karen just looked away, grimacing, and wiping away tears.

"Does Dad know?" Nancy asked, afraid of the answer.

"No, you're the first person to know." Karen responded.

Nancy just nodded and helped her up.

"I'm fine, Nancy." Karen said shaking her off. "It's normal, the nausea and vomiting. It's just, on top of everything else…"

"Yeah, I get it."

They headed downstairs, where Nancy made Karen a hot chocolate, and they sat in the kitchen talking for a good hour. At half past two, Karen finally stood up.

"You need to get some sleep." She said to Nancy.

Nancy nodded and was about to leave the kitchen, when Karen stopped her and hugged her.

"What would I do without you, honey?" She said when she released Nancy.

Nancy squirmed. She wanted to get away fast. "Um, yeah…good night, Mom." She said and made her escape.

* * *

 

Jonathan couldn't sleep. Again. He kept seeing Nancy's face from earlier that evening. It was driving him crazy, not being able to do anything. He felt so useless. _She helped me look for Will. I need to repay her somehow_ , Jonathan thought. _She doesn't deserve this_. He felt a tear slip down his face. _What's wrong with me?_

He got out of bed, frustrated with himself, and got dressed. It was useless trying to sleep. He grabbed his camera and left the house. Winter had come early and the first flurries of the year were falling. Jonathan made his way through the forest to the river. He always seemed to head there, when he wanted to think. As it came into view, he saw someone already sitting at the bench. He got closer and saw that that someone was Will.

Jonathan got angry. "What the hell, Will?! What are you thinking, coming out here alone? You could've been snatched again! What if you…" Jonathan trailed off as Will turned around to face him, his eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to yell at you." He said hurrying over. "I just…I don't want you taken again."

Will nodded as Jonathan sat down and put an arm around him. Jonathan could feel Will's thin frame shaking, and his heart constricted. _He's been through enough. He doesn't need his best friend to die now._ It hurt like hell, seeing Will in pain, yet again, and Jonathan felt that same sense of uselessness, that he was now so familiar with, return.

"Mike can't die." Will said, watching the snow fall.

"No, and he won't. We'll get him back." Jonathan said, feeling lame. But Will seemed a bit bolstered by his words. He trusted Jonathan more than anyone, perhaps even more than his mom.

Jonathan continued. "You probably feel a little guilty, right?" Will nodded. "But you shouldn't. This isn't your problem. Okay? Will?" Will was trying not to cry again.

"Why do bad things always happen to us?" he asked, his voice unsteady.

 _Damn! Why does he always have to be so_ _direct_? Jonathan took a deep breath. "I don't know. I really don't know."

Will looked away miserably and Jonathan was reminded of those endless months at the hospital. _We need Mike back, not just for Nancy but for Will too._ _He'll never be the same if Mike dies._

"Come on Will, you’re freezing, we need to get you home." Jonathan said, getting up and holding out a hand to help Will up. "You’re still weak from the hospital, you can get sick."

They headed back home, both lost in dismal thoughts.

* * *

 

The next day dawned bright and sunny, in sharp contrast to everyone's mood. Hopper and Riley headed out to the lab at midday, armed with a variety of weapons and tools, ready to infiltrate. They took the same route as last time, and got filthy digging a new ditch, despite the fact that this time they'd brought shovels.

 

Hopper and Riley staked out the lab for hours, watching the goings-on. It was very busy; trucks and people were constantly coming and going, and they caught a glimpse of Brenner a couple of times. Things began slowing down at around five, and finally, all was quiet at half past seven. There were a couple of guards, still on duty, but they were easily dispensed, with quick tranquilizers to the neck.

The two moved into the lab, extremely cautious. They didn't know how many people, if any, were still inside, and what was going on with the monster. They found the whole ground floor deserted, and moved upstairs, blasting their way past any security measures.

"The gate is below ground, but let's just clear the top floors first." Hopper explained.

They scoped out the rest of the building, finding the security headquarters. Once there, they disabled the camera system and removed the footage they found.

"These might be very useful. I can't believe they'd leave them around!" Riley said, pocketing the reels.

"It's probably unused or really old, but who knows? We'll definitely take a look." Hopper said.

With that done, they headed down, through numerous corridors and fortified doors.

"Jesus!" Riley remarked after the twelfth 'caution radiation' sign. "Am I going to drop dead after this? I mean, what are they even doing here. Not nukes, right?"

"No, something a lot worse than that."

They got to the room where Hopper had first become aware of the horrible nature of the Lab's work. The bed was still there, but the picture was gone, and the room looked like it hadn't been used in a while.

"They kept a kid here, can you believe it? A little girl."

Riley shook his head, looking at the cell. "Bastards! I really want to put a bullet in that Brenner guy."

"He's mine." Hopper answered, dead serious.

They continued, taking the elevator down even deeper.

"This is the heart of the operation," Hopper said. "Watch out, I have no idea what we'll find. This is dangerous."

The door opened and they gaped. The wide hallway was completely wrecked, the walls cracked, plaster hanging from what was left of the ceiling, and debris littered all over the place.

"Let's go!" They tore down the hallway, and into the room where the gate was located. Hopper stopped dead.

"It's gone! Completely gone!" The room looked much like the hallway had, but there was no sign of the monstrous, breathing, mass that had occupied it last year. "Just disappeared…"

They checked out the rest of the floor, finding nothing but more ruin.

"Shit! Now we have no way into the Upside Down." Hopper was furious and he slammed his fist on the wall, releasing a chunk of plaster, and sending up a cloud of dust.

They headed back up, double checking every room for any clues. Finally they left the lab.

"We need to take care of these two." Riley said, taking two syringes out of his pack. "Amnesia. They won't remember a thing."

He administered the drugs to the two guards and they left.

* * *

 

Mike woke up abruptly and immediately remembered everything. _At least my head feels better_ , he thought. He became aware of the chain around his leg and tried to pull his foot out, to no avail. Then Mike looked around, and cried out.

"Oh my God! Oh my…" he was in a windowless brick room, with five other people. They were all kids by the look of it, and one appeared to be no older than six. They all looked beaten, battered, and bloodied. They didn't even look up, though Mike saw a couple of them flinch when he spoke. He looked at each of them; their heads were all shaved like Eleven's had been. _Am I also_ …, Mike thought running his hand over his head. _Yeah, I am._

The little kid appeared to be a boy; there were also two Asian kids, about ten, who looked like twins. Then there were two more kids in the corner, one of which was sitting with their head down. They were all chained to the wall as well, and Mike could see blood around their ankles, where the shackles were attached. _This is my future_ , he thought looking at the wretched figures before him. They looked beyond broken, they looked like they wished someone would kill them.

"Hello," he tried but there was no response. "Does anyone know what's going on? Does anyone know where we are?" They appeared not to even hear him.

Mike collapsed on the floor, and surveyed his cellmates again. His eyes kept heading back to the kid sitting in the corner of the room. _That kid looks familiar. It can't be_ … Mike jumped up. _It made perfect sense!_

He looked at her. "El?" he asked quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning - this chapter deals with self-harm

The girl looked up, and Mike gasped. It was Eleven but she was hardly recognizable. Her eyes were completely bloodshot, and her face was hallowed out. She'd been skinny when Mike found her a year ago, but now she was positively emaciated. Her legs also showed clear signs of bruising. Mike tried to walk over to her but he couldn't. His leg was chained to the wall. He tried to pull the shackle off his ankle, desperately, but it wouldn't budge. Mike grew frustrated and collapsed in a heap, banging his hands on his head.

Eleven wasn't fairing much better. When she saw Mike, she became agitated.

"Bad place, Mike!" she cried, shivering. "You shouldn't be here."

Mike looked at her and saw that she was crying. He so desperately wanted to hug her; just to feel her and make sure that she was real. He'd gone a whole year, believing she was dead, trying to forget about her. Now, here she was, in the worst possible place. It was a little too much to bear. _We're gonna die here together._ The thought occurred to Mike and he was powerless to stop it. It took over his head, and started consuming him. _We're gonna die here. We're dying. I'm gonna die here. Eleven's gonna die here. We're all dying_ …

They stared at each other, unable to talk, unable to move, unable to comfort one another. Mike wished he could talk to her, face to face. Throughout all of this, none of the other kids moved or spoke. That, more than anything, freaked Mike out. They were like zombies, and he knew he would soon be one too. He looked at El again; she hadn't taken her eyes off him.

"What did they do to you, El?" He whispered, hoarsely.

"Bad stuff." She whispered back. "There are more monsters. Because of me."

* * *

 

Hopper and Riley got back to the trailer at about 9:30 and started going through some footage. They found what they were looking for almost immediately.

"Alright, I've got to let Karen know what we've got." Hopper said.

He called to make sure it was okay to come. When he got there, he saw that it was a small group this time, just Karen, Ted, Nancy, and Jonathan.

"Will wasn't doing well, so my mom's with him." Jonathan explained, glancing at Nancy. He was rather uncomfortable, being that it was just him and the Wheelers, but Nancy had called and asked him to come, so here he was.

Hopper pulled out some grainy images. "Ok, we went to the lab, and it was deserted, besides for some guards. We searched the whole place, went down to where the gate should've been. There was nothing. No gate, no monster, nothing. Just wreckage. So we're locked out of the Upside Down. But, for now, that's not a problem. Here. We got some footage from their cameras." He said giving them the pictures to look at.

"This one is from the lab; it's definitely Mike." Hopper pointed to the first one. It showed a dim room, with someone on a table. "So they picked him up. Whether that's good or bad, we don't know, but we know they have him."

"This one," he said pointing at the second one. "Is from the compound."

This image was clearer, and showed three SUVs outside a building, and two burly security guards pulling something that looked like a small body from one of the cars.

"We think that's also Mike, which means he's at the compound."

Karen looked at him. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know." Hopper answered rubbing his forehead. "I do think he's alive, though. Why would they bother transferring him, if he's dead? I have no idea what shape he might be in. You can't tell from these pictures obviously."

"But what can you do about it? I mean, can you get him out of there?"

Here, Hopper sighed, and shook his head. "I have no idea. We'll try to, but it seems impossible."

At this, Nancy got up and left without a word. They watched her go, but no one followed.

"Look, at least we know he's alive. Maybe if they transfer him, then we might have a chance."

Karen stood up. "That is my son, Hopper. I may just march in there and demand him back. What are they gonna tell me?"

Hopper shook his head. "No. You can't. If they planned on returning him, then they would have done so already. They obviously want him for some reason and you marching in there will just make things worse. We need to bide out time, watch and wait. We may get a chance."

"And what if we don't?" Karen asked, her face taut.

Jonathan got up to leave but first he wanted to make sure that Nancy was doing okay. He slipped upstairs as Hopper was talking to Karen, and knocked on Nancy's door. There was no answer, so he knocked a little more.

"Nancy, you in there?" He called out softy. He listened at the door; there was no music playing. Jonathan rested his head on the wall. _What did I do? Why is she ignoring me now? I must have said something. What was it?..._

Suddenly he heard gasping.

"Nancy, are you okay?" he asked, alarmed. "Nancy, come on. Can you open the door?" There was still nothing.

"Nancy?" When she still didn't answer, and there was silence, Jonathan decided to go in. He opened the door a crack and cried out.

"Oh my God, Nancy!" She was sitting at the edge of her bed, with a knife in her hand. Blood was snaking down her forearm and leg, where she had sliced herself open. Nancy looked up at him, apologetically. Her hand was shaking.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Jonathan rushed over to her and sat down beside her. He took her hand in his and gently wrested the knife from her.

She looked at him, her breathing uneven and shallow. "I…I'm sorry…"

Jonathan shook his head and took her face in his hands. "No. Nancy, you'll be okay. You hear me?" She burst into tears and looked down at what she'd done to herself.

"I can't believe myself." She cried bitterly. "I never thought I was the type to..."

Jonathan held her to him, but quickly let go. "We need to get you fixed up."

She nodded, her head buried in her hands. He let go of her and went to the bathroom to get some supplies. Jonathan came back to her room and shut the door. He pressed a cloth to her leg and immediately, it became soaked with her blood. He wrapped it up, trying his best not to hurt her. His mind was on autopilot, not wanting to think about what Nancy had done to herself. She shuddered as he bandaged her leg, sobbing and muttering.

"I'm sorry, Jonathan. I don't know what came over me…I just…I don't know. I'm falling apart…everything is just so messed up, and I…"

He sat down beside her and started on her arm, while trying to calm her down. "Nancy, please. You don't need to apologize to me. It's okay, I understand. I…I uh…when we thought that Will was dead, I was feeling the same way. I wanted to hurt myself."

Nancy nodded, but she was still inconsolable. Jonathan felt horrible. It was awful seeing her like this and the guilt started creeping in. _I should've been with her more, I'm not doing enough_. He'd gotten his brother back and he knew that Nancy might never do the same. He finished up but made no move to leave, instead he put his arm around her and they sat there, she crying, and he, trying not to.

Jonathan looked at the blood-stained knife that lay on the bed, where he had discarded it.

"Nancy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise that you won't hurt yourself again?" She looked at him and shook her head miserably.

"No, I can't. I don't know anymore. I don't know what I'll do." She said, determinedly not looking at him.

"Nancy, please. I can't leave you alone, knowing that you might cut again. Please. I…if you feel like doing it, call me. I'll come over and be with you, I'll do anything. Just please don't hurt yourself like this. It…It's awful. I can't take it. If you won't stop for yourself then please do it for me." He knew he was being selfish but he just couldn’t stand the sight of her blood, the ugly cuts, her hurt, expressed in such a crude way…

Nancy looked at him, and a sudden impulse hit her. She leaned over and kissed him, her arms sliding around his waist. Jonathan was caught off guard, but responded in kind. He was a lot more comfortable with her now than he'd been a couple months before. When she pulled back, he realized that his shirt was wet with blood. Jonathan looked at Nancy's wrist; it was still bleeding badly.

"Nancy, I think you need stitches for that." He said cautiously.

She looked down and frowned. "I…I don't want anyone knowing, my mom least of all. She has enough on her plate."

"That's fine, I get it. I'll take you."

Nancy got up. "I need to tell her that I'm going out at least."

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, just wear something with long sleeves, it should cover it."

She ventured out of her room, in search of Karen, finding her dozing at the kitchen table. Nancy decided to just write a note and leave it on her bed, in case Karen decided to check in. They left the house and got into Jonathan's car where they raced to the hospital. Jonathan paused outside the building.

"God! I hate this place."

"Yeah," Nancy agreed. "So do I."

"Well, let's go and get this over with."

They waited for about half an hour before being admitted. Jonathan went in with her and they answered a bunch of questions together.

"So, uh… how old are you?" the physician asked Nancy.

"Eighteen." Nancy answered, lying without a moment's hesitation.

The doctor raised an eyebrow but didn't object. "Ok. You need stitches, it's not a big deal, just don't keep doing this; you could really end up hurting yourself." He turned to Jonathan. "Are you the boyfriend?"

Jonathan shrugged uncomfortably.

"Well, take care of her, alright?"

This time he nodded.

"You'll be out of here in no time." The doctor finished. He got up and took them to another room, where another guy was prepping to do the stitches. Jonathan held Nancy's free hand through the whole procedure. It was a little unnerving to watch the thread going into her skin, but he wouldn't leave her alone. Finally they were finished and left the hospital with a few dire warnings from the staff.

"So, how you doing?" he asked her when they were back in the car.

"Okay. Better." She said, smiling weakly at him.

He started up the car and drove her home, parking outside the Wheelers' house. They turned to face each other, wanting to say so many things, yet not knowing where to start.

Jonathan broke the silence. "Remember, if you need anything…" Nancy nodded before he could finish. She was getting choked up again. She wanted him near her; she didn't want to be left alone with her thoughts.

"Hey, do you want me to stay?" he asked, concerned.

Nancy found herself shaking her head. "No, it's okay."

"Alright Nancy. Take care of yourself." But she made no move to leave the car. "Nancy?"

She looked at him, and opened her mouth, as if to speak, but then closed it again. This happened a few more times before she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes to hide the new tears forming.

"I love you, Jonathan." She whispered, her voice breaking when she said his name.

Jonathan's heart skipped a beat or two. The words jolted him. They both knew it, but they'd been too scared to say it. Jonathan opened his mouth to respond but the words wouldn't come. He took a deep breath, steadying his pounding heart, and tried again. This time the words came out, although they sounded a little hoarse. "I love you too, Nancy."

This produced a fresh round of sobbing from Nancy. _Why is it that at least one of us is always crying when we have these moments?_ Jonathan thought. _Are we ever gonna be happy?_

"I'm sorry," Nancy said again. "I…I'm probably just getting my period soon, so it's making me all…"

Jonathan smiled, self-consciously. "Um…no…it's fine." _What am I even saying? Help!_

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Nancy said, sensing his awkwardness. "Never mind."

They sat in the car for a while, before Nancy finally sat up again. She kissed him on the cheek and made to leave. "Thank you." She said, shortly. She didn't need to say anymore.

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

Their eyes lingered on each other, before Nancy turned and headed into the house. Jonathan watched her go, resisting the urge to follow. He drove home but lingered in the car for a good hour, thinking about the night's events. _We need Mike back,_ was his conclusion.

* * *

 

Mike was rudely awakened by a toad-faced man, who undid the chain around his leg. He was slung over the guy's shoulder and carried out of the room. Mike, tried to make eye contact with Eleven on the way out, but she just looked down.

He was taken to a fluorescently lit room, and dumped on a chair. There were three more men in the room and Mike felt very exposed. He was wearing nothing but a skimpy gown, and his shaved head made him uncomfortable. He tried not to look any of the men directly in the eye, they made his hair stand on end. He wanted to do something. Thinking of Eleven, he wanted to punch them, kick them, hurt them. But he held back, knowing he'd probably just be knocked out again, or worse.

They attached a device to his arm and began questioning him. Mike assumed it was a lie-detector. He resigned himself to the situation and answered each question in a monotone. When they started asking him about his family, though, he went quiet, determined not to give away anything that might hurt them. They prodded him, both literally and figuratively, but he wouldn't budge. Finally, they'd had enough and moved him to another room that featured a strange, large machine that frightened Mike.

They forced him into the contraption and closed the lights in the room. Mike started freaking out. He was claustrophobic and this was torture for him. Then everything became a whole lot worse. He started experiencing sharp pains in his head, a bright light was shining in his eyes, and he could smell an acrid odor. Trying not to vomit, he took a few deep breaths, but all the sensations just became stronger and Mike couldn't take it. Then a deafening voice joined the mix, pushing Mike over the edge. He was about to blank out, when there was a sharp jab in the small of his back. This happened again and again and Mike realized that it was to prevent him from losing consciousness. He tried to think of home, of his Mom, of Nancy, of Holly, of Lucas, Dustin, and Will, but his mind couldn't conjure up their images.

The voice was getting louder, the lights brighter, the smell more pungent, and the pain in his head, unbearable. Then the questions started and Mike, disgusted with himself, started answering…

 

**To Be Continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

Karen woke up at the kitchen table. She hadn't slept in her bed since Mike's disappearance; instead, she'd dozed off on a chair or on the couch each night. A wave of nausea hit her and she struggled to fight off the urge to vomit. Her morning sickness was flaring up in the past week. _Probably stress_.

She got up and checked the time, before taking a shower. The helplessness of the situation was getting to her. She was approaching the end of her rope. Karen thought back to when she'd gone to visit Joyce when Will was missing. Back then, she'd been quite put off by Joyce's behavior, but now she understood the worry, and the utter hysteria, a missing kid caused. _Especially when there are real-life monsters involved_.

Karen looked down at her stomach. She wasn't showing yet but she felt heavy and bloated already. _I can't handle another child if Mike dies. I just can't_. _What if it's a boy?_ She took a deep breath and got dressed, applying a fresh coat of makeup. It helped her keep things together, looking presentable.

Karen peeked into Nancy's room and saw her daughter sleeping peacefully. She stood in the doorway, just watching her and sighed. Her relationship with Nancy was a complicated one. On the one hand, they got along now, but on the other, Nancy would never confide in her. It saddened Karen, the way things had turned out between them, but she was grateful for the bond that they did have. She'd heard stories from friends of hers, about their daughters who were completely shut out of their life.

 _We were headed there before all of this happened,_ She thought. It was strange, but tragedy had a way of bringing out the best in some people and the worst in others. Karen thought of Ted but immediately shook her head to stop herself. _Don't go there. Now's not the time_. She was shaken out of her reverie as someone tugged on her dress.

Karen jumped. She turned around and found Holly looking up, eyes wide.

"Oh, baby." She said, picking her up. "Did I scare you?"

Holly shook her head. "I'm hungry."

Karen carefully closed Nancy's door and they headed downstairs.

* * *

 

Dustin and Lucas walked into the school cafeteria. They'd barely exchanged a word all morning. Since Mike's disappearance, they'd been very much subdued, hardly talking, but sticking to each other more than usual. Mike was the glue that held them all together, and they were scared to death about what would happen to them if he died.

They ate in silence, pondering the news they'd got that morning when they'd ridden by the Byers' house. Like zombies, they sat through the rest of their classes, taking sketchy notes, and listening but not really hearing. At last, the final bell rang, and they headed outside and made for their bikes.

"Where to?" Lucas asked.

Dustin shrugged and started off, with Lucas close behind. They biked around aimlessly, two of their number down.

"So who do you think is next? Me or you?" Dustin said finally, voicing what they were both thinking about.

Lucas shrugged, not amused. "This is driving me crazy! What do we do?"

"I don't know. I mean, we don't even know where the compound is, the chief will never tell us, and even if we did, we'd have a hard time biking there. And besides, what are we gonna do about it? We can't exactly just walk in there, demanding they give us Mike."

"Yeah, but we need to do something," Lucas repeated.

Dustin lost it. "What?! What? What should we do?! This shit is crazy! We'll just end up dead! I don't know what to do!"

Lucas looked at him, surprised. Usually, he was the one who lost his patience. Dustin never broke down, nothing seemed to faze him. The truth was that they were all losing it. Each of them considered Mike their best friend and he was also the one who often mediated between them. Lucas sighed.

"This is such bullshit! We know where he is and we're sitting here like idiots, doing nothing!"

Dustin was silent, his head bowed over the handlebars of his bike. He shook his head. "I don't know." He muttered. "I'm going home." And he biked off.

"What?" Lucas said to no one. "What is wrong with him?"

He rode around for a while longer before resigning himself to another endless, lonely night.

* * *

 

Hopper was watching footage from the compound when his phone rang.

"Hopper." He said, answering.

"Yeah, chief, we need you down here. It's urgent." Callaghan said.

"Well, I don't have time for this. You handle it and I'll be there when I can." Hopper said, irritably.

"Chief! It's another missing kid. Lucas Sinclair."

"God Damn it! I'll be there in a minute, hang on!" Hopper slammed the phone down. "SHIT! I knew something like this would happen!" Riley woke up from where he was snoozing on the couch.

"What?"

"Another kid missing, the Sinclair one."

"What the hell?! Are you serious?" He said, pulling on a t-shirt. A couple of minutes later, they were both in the car, racing to the station.

They burst in and were immediately accosted by Lucas's frantic parents.

"My boy's missing, chief!" Mrs. Sinclair cried. "Disappeared overnight."

He ushered them into his office and listened to their account.

"Lucas came home yesterday, he was kinda upset. He came out for dinner but that's it. We didn't see him for the rest of the evening."

Mr. Sinclair spoke up. "I checked in on him before going to bed. It was about one or so. He was sleeping soundly, so he was definitely there."

"Yeah, and then this morning I went to wake him up and he was gone. We checked everywhere, we called everyone, and he's nowhere to be found. Just vanished."

Hopper put his head in his hands and tried to think. _What's going on here? What am I missing? Now two boys are missing. I feel like they're targeting those involved in Will's episode. This can't just be a coincidence._ He looked up. "Ok, I want to come take a look at his room and the house, is that okay?"

They nodded and then they were off. Hopper and Riley pulled up outside the Sinclair's' house, followed by Lucas's parents. They headed up to Lucas's room. There was no sign of a struggle or any other possible clues.

"Damn," Hopper muttered, leaning against the wall. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The nicotine helped him think, or at least that's what he told himself. He looked at the frantic parents in front of him and took a deep breath. They would need to be filled in on the whole Upside Down story. Hopper was rather tired of relaying the outrageous tale, but he plowed right into it. "Ok, listen carefully, this may seem ridiculous, but it's all true…" He gave them a full account of Will's disappearance and the more recent vanishing of Mike. "And now it looks like they've taken your kid."

The Sinclairs didn't know how to take the news. They were in shock and were not sure whether or not to believe Hopper's account. What choice did they have, though?

"Ok, I want to check on the Wheelers, and we need to warn the others." Hopper made a couple of calls to the Hendersons and Byers, warning them to be on alert. Then they got into a couple of cars, along with the Sinclairs. Hopper drove along, heading for the Wheelers, lost in thought. _What now? What now? You're really screwing this up, Jim. You really are._

Something caught his attention, breaking his train of thought. He saw three black SUVs ahead of them, apparently traveling together. _I don't like this_. Hopper continued on, letting the cars pull away a bit, in case they were watching for a tail. _They're heading for the Wheelers,_ He thought. Hopper knew that they could be heading anywhere, but in his heart, he knew that he was right. Sure enough, the cars pulled over outside the Wheelers, and Hopper stopped his car, a safe distance away.

"Oh, shit!" Hopper cried out. He pulled out his radio to communicate with Riley in the other car with the Sinclairs. "You seeing this?"

"Yeah, looks like trouble." There were men piling out of the SUVs and heading towards the Wheelers house. Hopper counted ten. _Oh God, what do we do?_

"Listen Riley: tell the Sinclairs to get the hell out of here, we may have to intervene and I don't want them caught up in this."

"Copy, I'll get them out of here." After they drove away, Riley joined Hopper in his car.

"What do we have on us?" Hopper asked.

"You have your pistol, I've got my M16, and a handgun, and we've got a couple of tranquilizer guns."

Hopper thought about it. "Ok, prepare the tranqs, I'd rather not kill them, how many do we have?"

"Uh…we've got eight shots."

"There are ten guys. We'll have to take out the other two, and that's if we hit them all. Ok, get your handgun ready too."

They watched as the men entered the house. "They may just leave, we may not have to do any…" Riley said but trailed off mid-sentence. They were coming out of the house, one of them carrying Holly and another two, restraining Karen, who was crying and thrashing.

"Damn it!" Hopper yelled. "Ok, get ready, don't shoot the ones near Karen or the kid, we don't want to hit them, especially not the kid, the tranquilizer could kill her."

Riley nodded, his face grim. They got out of the car, lay down on the ground and started firing. The men didn't know what hit them, when three of them just collapsed, followed by a fourth, fifth and sixth. The remaining four looked around wildly and spotted Hopper and Riley up the street. They charged but two of them quickly took a dart, one to the neck. and one to the hand; they collapsed shortly after. The two that were left pulled out their guns and began firing wildly at the spot where Hopper and Riley were lying.

Riley hit one in the leg, and the guy immediately collapsed. He got up and was charging the last guy, when he was hit in the arm. The gun dropped from Riley's hand just as Hopper knocked out the last one.

"Oh, shit! Shit!" Riley muttered, ripping off his bomber jacket. He examined the wound and was relieved to see that the bullet had gone through. It wasn't all that bad, there was a lot of blood, though.

They ran over to where Karen and Holly were standing, shocked and crying, respectively.

"What the hell just…" Karen gasped. The ground around her was littered with unconscious men in suits, who had just tried to snatch her from her house.

"Ok, Karen, listen. We need to get you out of here, right now. We're leaving. This place is not safe for you anymore." Hopper said hurriedly.

Karen nodded, still dazed.                                   

"You've got a couple of minutes, to grab what you need, then we're outta here, ok?"

"Yeah, but what about Nancy, and…and Ted and…" Karen was trying to process everything.

"We'll take care of that, let's go!" They headed into the house where Riley found some cloth to bandage his arm. Karen ran around grabbing some valuables and necessities. Holly was still crying so Hopper picked her up and tried to calm her down. "Don't worry, you'll be ok. We got rid of those guys."

Karen came downstairs with a couple of packs. "Ok, let's go." They left the house but she lingered at the door, looking around and shaking her head.

"I can't believe this. It's just absolutely crazy." She backed out at last, and locked the door, wondering if she would ever be back.

Hopper shot out the tires of the SUVs and they piled into his car and left.

"Where are we heading? Karen asked, holding Holly.

"I don't know yet. I need to think. They took Lucas last night and tried to take you now. We're all in danger. I need to get everybody else out of here too. Oh, God…what a mess!" Hopper took a long, deep breath. "Ok, Riley can you drive?"

Riley nodded. "Sure."

"Ok, we'll head to the station and pick up another car. I need you to take Karen somewhere safe, my place won't do. They're probably watching all of us. Take them to some kind of motel or something. Somewhere out of the way, ok?"

Riley nodded but Karen intervened. "What about Nancy?"

"You're right, where is she?" Hopper asked.

"At school."

They drove to the school, and Hopper was relieved to see that there were no black cars hanging around the parking lot. Karen went in and came out a couple of minutes later with Nancy. They got into the car and Nancy looked questioningly at Hopper.

"I hear we're leaving. Are we, like, fugitives now?"

"I don't know," said Hopper curtly, starting the car and speeding off. They drove the rest of the way to the station in silence. Once there, the Wheelers and Riley transferred to another car.

"Alright guys," Hopper said, poking his head through the window. "We'll talk tonight. Things have just taken a major turn for the worse, and this shit's getting complicated. But right now, I need to get everyone to safety." He addressed Riley. "Call the station and tell Flo where you are, we need to get everyone together."

Riley nodded.

"Ok, be safe, you got ammo, right?" Riley nodded again.

"Don't hesitate to use it," Hopper said and then they were off.

* * *

 

Mike was shivering. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd become sick. It was just a few hours, since the torture in that horrible device, but it felt like forever. He couldn't really remember much from before it. His whole life now seemed to be made up of pain and cold.

He was sitting alone on the floor of a completely bare room. He'd been dumped into it after the machine and he hadn't seen anyone since. He tried to hug himself for warmth. When that didn't work, he got up and tried to jog in place, but that just made his head explode and he collapsed on the floor again. Mike burst into tears and began pounding his head against the wall. He wanted it to end, he wanted to die, to feel nothing. To be no more...


	8. Chapter 8

Hopper raced to the Sinclairs' house and found Lucas's parents waiting there for him, on the verge of hysterics.

"What was going on down there?" Bill Sinclair asked.

"Some Lab guys. They were trying to take Karen, but we got there just in time. Listen, you're all in danger. We need to get out of Hawkins, so get whatever stuff you need and head over to the station, alright?"

"What?! Just pick up and leave?! Just like that?" Mrs. Sinclair asked.

"Listen, Mrs. Sin…"

"Laura." She interrupted.

"Listen, Laura, I don't know what's going on. All I know is that your boy is gone, Mike is gone, and Will's gone through a year of suffering because of these people. And now, it looks like they're going after your families. So we need to disappear for a while."

This time, they accepted his explanation and immediately got to work, packing up their stuff.

"Ok, I need to go warn the others, get to the station and stay there."

Hopper jumped back into his car and headed for the Hendersons’ house. This one was gonna be the toughest of all. They didn't know a thing about the Upside Down, as far as Hopper knew, and their kid was fine for now. He knocked on the door, rang the doorbell, and then it hit him how foolish he was being. _They're at work, obviously!_ After the morning's events, it seemed incredible that people were still going on with their normal routines.

Hopper raced to Hawkins Middle School and got Dustin.

"What's going on, Chief?" Dustin asked as Hopper forced him into his car.

"Lucas is gone. I'm getting you out of here." Hopper answered curtly. "Where do your parents work, and which one has the car, or do they both have one?"

Dustin gave him the information without a second thought, Hopper's tone was dangerous. They sped over to the diner where his mom worked. Hopper walked in with Dustin and they found his mom.

"Hi, Mrs. Henderson, we need to leave, I'll explain in the car," Hopper told her, rather abruptly. With Dustin's urging, she followed quickly. Dustin looked frightened, which was enough to alarm Reina Henderson; Dustin was many things, but he was never scared. They raced over to the cheese factory on the outskirts of town, where Mr. Henderson worked as a floor manager.

"Get him out here," Hopper ordered, he didn't want to make a grand entrance at the factory, too many witnesses. _I'm getting really paranoid._

Greg Henderson came out of the building with his wife, looking annoyed.

"What's this?" he asked Hopper angrily.

"Get in and I'll explain," Hopper said. Greg got into the front seat and turned to face the chief.

"This better be good."

"It might be a little too 'good'" Hopper said with a humorless smile. Then he launched into the tale for the second time that day. The Hendersons listened, disbelievingly.

"What a load of crap!" Greg called out halfway through. _So that's where the kid gets his mouth from_ , Hopper thought.

As if on cue, Dustin jumped in. "It's not bullshit, Dad, it's true. Keep listening."

Hopper continued and slowly but surely, he could tell he was winning them over. It was far too much to be a coincidence. By the time he finished, they had turned dead serious.

"So what are we doing?" Reina asked.

"I need you to head to the station and wait there. You can go home first and get anything you really need, but make it quick. The whole town is swarming with these people. I saw a couple more of their sedans on my way here. We need to get you all out of here ASAP."

Greg nodded and the three of them hurried over to his car.

"Hey!" Hopper shouted at them. "Do you know where Ted Wheeler works?"

"Yeah, over at the medical supply place," Greg called back.

Hopper drove down there and found Ted. He explained the situation and was rather disconcerted by his non-reaction. _What is wrong with this guy? How could he have married someone so out of his league?_ He shook his head to clear his mind of these thoughts. "So, can you get to the station as soon as possible? We need to leave."

Ted sort of half-nodded, half-shrugged.

 _I'll take that as a yes._ Hopper left the building, shaking his head. He raced back into town and headed over to the Byers' house. He'd saved them for last because he figured that they'd already been screwed by the lab, and they didn't seem to be in as much danger. He knocked on the front door but no one answered. He pounded on it, but the racket he made didn't change the response.

A pit was growing in his stomach. _Something's not right_. Hopper knew from Joyce that Will was home during the day with a neighbor. _Maybe they went out for a bit, but I don't think so._ Hopper banged on the door for another minute before he'd had enough. He picked the lock and burst in. The house looked ordinary enough. The radio was on somewhere and an ad for Camel Cigarettes was playing. Hopper made his way down the hall and entered the kitchen.

"Oh God…" Hopper said, backing up, his breathing heavy. He struggled not to vomit. Larry Mercer's dead eyes were staring right at him, blood pouring out of a bullet hole in his head. Hopper forced himself to walk over to him. He felt Larry's face, it was still warm. _This just happened!_

Hopper ran out of the kitchen and searched the rest of the house, but he knew it was useless. Will was gone. Again. Hopper collapsed on a chair. It had just happened. _If only I came here first…If only I…I could have stopped it! I could have…_

It had been a long time since Hopper had cried, but it was too much for him. He'd grown to really care about Will and Jonathan, and Joyce, of course. After a couple of minutes, Hopper's training kicked in and he shoved his emotions out of the way. _I've got a job to do. Let's get on with it._

He went back into the kitchen and stared at Larry's body. He decided he'd tell the guys at the station to investigate, but for now, Hopper just closed the eyes and covered him with a blanket. It was the best he could do, under the circumstances. Then he left, dreading what he had to do next.

Hopper drove over to Hawkins High School and went in.

"Can you get me Jonathan Byers?" Hopper asked at the front desk.

A couple minutes later, he appeared. When he saw Hopper, his face tightened.

"What is it?"

Hopper led him outside and into the car.

"Jonathan, I don't know how to…"

"What is it?! Is it Will?" Jonathan asked, panicking.

Hopper looked straight at him and nodded. "They took him again. I was minutes too late. I got to the house; they'd shot Larry in the head and took Will."

Jonathan struggled to find something to say, but words failed him. "But...but he…It can't…He was just…" His lips trembled and he fought to keep his composure. Hopper watched him and his chest tightened. _No one should have to go through shit like this_. He put his hand on Jonathan's shoulder, just to let him know that he was there.

Jonathan took a few deep breaths. "Does my mom know?"

Hopper shook his head. "That's my next stop."

"Ok, let's go." Jonathan put on his seatbelt, just to have something to do.

"That's not all," Hopper continued. "They snatched Lucas overnight. He's gone too. And they came for the Wheelers this morning. We got there just in time to stop that."

"Is Nancy okay?" Jonathan asked automatically.

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine. She was at school when it happened."

"What are we doing about…everything?" Jonathan said.

"Well, first of all, I'm getting all of you out of Hawkins. I don't know where yet, but we want to keep these people on their feet."

They pulled up outside the general store where Joyce worked and stopped.

"Do you want to…Or should I?" Hopper asked.

"I'll tell her." Jonathan got out of the car. Hopper took out a pack of cigarettes and worked his way through three before Jonathan returned with Joyce. She looked at Hopper.

"Please tell me it's not true," She said, her voice shaking.

Hopper shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry."

Joyce turned away, defeated. Hopper addressed Jonathan. "Get to the station. I don't think you should even go home first, just get to the station and wait. I'll be there in twenty minutes, tops, okay?"

Jonathan nodded and Hopper headed off to his last stop. It was his place, where all of the equipment was stashed. He raced inside, hoping that the Lab hadn't gotten to it first. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw all the screens intact. _If they were here, I'd know._ Hopper worked furiously, disconnecting all the gear and hauling it to his car. When he was done, he did a full sweep of his house, grabbing anything he didn't want the Lab to see.

Finally, he locked the door and left without a backward glance. The place didn't mean much to him, there were people's lives hanging in the balance. Hopper arrived at the station, pleased that they were all waiting for him and that no black SUVs were in sight. He walked in, and Flo assaulted him.

"Jim, there are three separate accounts of…"

"Flo, Flo, Flo! I have no time for this. Did my guy call to tell you where he's staying?"

"Yes, in fact he did. He was rather rude, too." Flo said, adjusting her glasses. She read off a paper. "He said he's at a 'Horseshoe Inn' off the US-231, between Crawfordsville and La…"

"Thank you," said Hopper snatching the paper from her. "No need to announce his location to the whole station." Hopper looked around but no one was paying any attention.

"Listen, Flo, I'm going to be gone for a while, I'll call in to see if anything's wrong but just…just hold down the fort."

Flo looked at him. "What have you gotten yourself into, Jim?"

"Uh…a whole boatload of trouble is what." There was no way Hopper was getting around Flo. "The Lab is back to snatching kids. We got three missing right now. We got their families being targeted too. We got all sorts of trouble." Hopper pulled out a couple of cigarettes, lit them, and stuck them both in his mouth. "It's not good. Keep it quiet."

Flo looked at him and didn't even bother removing the offending cigarettes from his mouth. "Well, take care of yourself."

Hopper nodded and came outside. "Alright folks, let's head out. I'll lead and you'll follow. Just so you know, we're pretty much heading to Lafayette. He tossed a radio to Reina Henderson, Bill Sinclair, Ted, and Jonathan. "So we can communicate. Ok, let's go."

They got into their cars and took off. Everyone was very much subdued. They drove for an hour or so, when the sun began to set and pretty soon, the night settled in. It was two and a half hours before Hopper spoke. He was the first person to do so. "OK, guys, look out for a 'Horseshoe Inn'. That's where we're heading."

It was Dustin who spotted it. Everyone else was too worried and too tired to think. "There it is!" he said, picking up the radio. "Chief, the sign on the left."

"Yeah, I see it." They took the exit and traveled a short, lonely road to a small parking lot. Near it, was a shabby one-story building with a faded sign depicting a horseshoe and a few rows of small, one-room cabins. The first 'o' and the 'r' in the sign were missing so that it spelled out 'h seshoe'.

They all piled out of their cars, stretching from the long drive.

"Really Chief?" Dustin asked. "Is this the best you could get?"

"First of all, I didn't pick it out, Riley did." Hopper began. "Second of all, it's perfect. It's out of the way. It's in middle of nowhere. Somehow, I just don't see those bastards out here…"

As he was talking, the door to one of the rooms across the lot opened, and Nancy, Karen, and Riley came out. They ran over, relieved to see some familiar faces. Karen fell into Ted and he patted her awkwardly. Nancy walked over to Jonathan and he threw his arms around her and held her tight. Riley came up to Hopper and gave him a pat on the back. "Got em' all out then?"

Hopper shook his head, surveying the crowd. "No. They took the Byers boy again. I was too late. They also killed a guy. A WWII vet, at that." He turned away, suddenly desperately for some time alone. Riley immediately recognized the change.

"Hey, Jim, you need a break. Go out, take a drive, I'll get everybody settled in."

Hopper was about to object but Riley went on. "Jim. I've seen it a hundred times. Guy doesn't take a minute to breathe and he burns himself out. Go. You need to get away."

Hopper nodded and got back into his car. Everyone looked over but Riley spoke up. "He's got a few things to take care of. Let's go and get you guys some rooms."

Hopper drove off and they headed for the main building but Riley stopped them. "We want as few people seeing us as possible, so I'll get...how many rooms do we need?"

They did a quick count. "Alright, I'll go get us some rooms and then we'll talk."

* * *

 

Lucas's eyes fluttered open and he was blinded by the bright lighting. His eyes adjusted and he jumped up and looked around. He was in a bare brick room with a bunch of other kids. Lucas looked down and gasped. His foot was chained to the wall and he was wearing a hospital gown. Then Lucas realized who the kid near him was.

"Will! What are you doing here?!"

Will looked up at him, from where he was sitting, leaning against the wall. His breathing was shallow and Lucas could tell that he was weak. "I don't know. They came for me earlier today. They killed Larry. I...I need my inhaler."

Lucas sat down near Will and put an arm around him. They leaned against each other, cold and terrified.

"Who are all these kids? I tried talking to them, they don't talk. Do you think this is where Mike is?" Will asked.

"I don't know. I don't see him here. Where do you think Dustin is? It looks like they want all of us."

"Hopefully they didn't get him."

Suddenly, the kid sitting near them looked up. Lucas fell silent, his mouth hanging open. It was Eleven. They'd long given up on ever seeing her again."That's Eleven," he whispered to Will who had never seen her.

When she saw them, she burst into tears. "Bad place. Bad place. Mike, Lucas. Bad place…" She repeated this again and again, her head falling to rest on her knees, and her body wracked with sobs.

Lucas, who was sitting right near her, hugged her to him, while Will, who couldn't fully reach her, put his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know her, but it was impossible to see Eleven and not care about her. They pulled apart and they each drifted off into a restless sleep, Eleven and Will leaning on Lucas who sat between them.

 

**To Be Continued...**


	9. Chapter 9

They were gathered in room 38, leaning against the walls, sitting on the beds, resting against the table, and slumped on the floor. Holly was asleep on one of the beds, covered by a blanket. It was rather cramped but they wanted to stick together. Riley didn't really know what to do. He didn't know the full story; he didn't really know any of these people. He was here as a favor to Hopper. Riley had to admit, it was more than he'd bargained for. He suddenly became aware of a dull throbbing in his arm and he realized that he'd completely forgotten about getting shot earlier. Riley pulled off his jacket and examined the wound. The bleeding had mostly stopped. _Good as new_ , he thought.

"Alright folks," he began, and everyone turned to him. "Now, who's got a gun?" This is what he did best, taking stock of their weapons and supplies.

Greg Henderson cleared his throat. "I've got a pistol." He said, patting his jacket. "Figured I might need it."

"Yeah, I've got my hunting rifle with me." Bill Sinclair added. "Same reason."

"Not bad, I've got a spare handgun on me, anybody without a gun who's handy with one?"

Nancy perked up. "Uh…I've used one, a couple of times." She said a little sheepishly.

"Nancy! Are you serious?" Even now, Karen couldn't contain her shock.

Nancy walked over to Riley and took the gun he was offering.

"You sure you know what you're doing with this, girl?" he said, a bit skeptical. Nancy was such a pipsqueak; it was hard to imagine her wielding a gun.

"Yeah, I do." She answered, pocketing it.

"Okay. Just be careful with it." They sat in silence for another few minutes, when Dustin spoke.

"Um, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Can we go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, let's go." Jonathan said, getting out his keys.

"I'm coming." Nancy wanted to get away from all of the adults. After getting everyone's order, they left the stuffy room. They drove the twenty minutes to Lafayette, found a McDonald's and a Pizza Hut, and placed their order. On the way back, Jonathan suddenly swerved for a second, and cried out.

"Damn it!"

"What?" Dustin asked, holding on to two pizza boxes.

"I forgot about the dog. He's at home, alone. Damn! I'm gonna have to go get him."

They arrived back at the inn and headed into the packed room. The food provided some relief from the tenseness that had settled in, but it quickly returned once everyone had finished eating. It was eight o'clock and no one knew what to do for the rest of the night.

Jonathan left the room and prepared for the three hour trip back to Hawkins. Riley followed him out.

"Hey, I don't think you should go back. Hopper really…"

"If Hopper has a problem with it, he can tell me himself." Jonathan said irritably. "That's Will's dog, and I'm not letting him stay there, starving and alone." With that, he drove off into the night.

Everyone eventually retired to their rooms, leaving Riley sitting on his car, smoking, and waiting for Hopper to return. _What have I gotten myself into_?

* * *

 

Mike was being led down a concrete hallway by five burly, black-suited men. They went through three sets of thick, steel-covered, blast doors, before reaching their destination. It was a large, factory-like room, full of machinery, vehicles, and people in bright orange hazmat suits. Mike thought they looked a bit like astronauts. The men left and he was pushed into a small area, off the main room, by a couple of the suited people. Mike couldn't see their face as they attached all sorts of devices to him. _If they're wearing these suits, then shouldn't I also be?_ The thought occurred to Mike, and he started panicking.

Suddenly, he was moving again. They went through another three blast doors and Mike gasped. They had entered a massive chamber, whose main feature was a huge breathing mass of fleshy, slimy stuff, which Mike instinctively knew, was a gate to the Upside Down. The thing was that this thing was enormous; it looked to be about thirty feet wide and at least as high. Mike just stared, hoping and praying that he wasn't heading in there but in his heart, he knew that he was.

More people were working in here, though their suits were yellow and they seemed to move slower. Many were going in and out of the large gap in the monster, some even on vehicles. Mike looked around for somewhere to hide, but he knew it was fruitless to do so. He felt a heavy hand on his back and he was forced closer and closer to the gate. The air was thick and foul, and Mike found himself panting, the smell overwhelming him.

He struggled to break free but they had an iron grip on him. Mike was forced through the gate and found himself in the Upside Down once again. This place looked far different than where he had been a few days ago. _It was just a few days ago?_ _I can barely remember anything before that. I feel like I've been here all my life_. He was in a clearing, lit up by floodlights, and there was a large, very strange looking building, which all the yellow-suited people were heading into. Mike was led into it and forced to don a metallic suit, which clung to him. It was better than the thin gown that he'd been wearing, though.

Someone attached a device to his head, that Mike somehow knew was a camera and then he was taken out of the building again. They dumped him in what appeared to be an armored tank, and started driving. After fifteen minutes, Mike was shoved out of the vehicle and left alone, in the middle of a thin forest, as the tank drove away.

Mike took stock of his situation. He was alone, in the middle of nowhere, in the Upside Down, probably being hunted by a monster or two. On the plus side, he was not cold, the suit was keeping him warm, and he was free of the Bad Men and that awful machine, at least for now. Mike struggled to catch his breath but soon realized that it was useless, so he slowed his breathing down, which helped a bit. _What a mess! What a f****** mess_! Mike banged his head on a tree. _I'm screwed. Either the monster finds me, or I go back to that factory and the Bad Men slowly torture me to death._ Mike sat down and leaned against a tree. _I need something to distract me_. His mind was working slowly, each thought swirling around his head for a while, before his brain actually picked up on it. Mike slowly started crafting a D &D campaign. It was painstaking, how slow he was, but it was all he could think of doing.

* * *

 

Jonathan pulled up in front of the house. The clock on the dashboard read 11:24. He killed the engine and got out of the car. Immediately, he heard moaning somewhere nearby. He ran out back, and sure enough, it was the dog. Jonathan picked him up and headed into the house. He flipped the light on in the kitchen and froze. Larry's body was still there, though it was covered. He tried not to think about what was beneath _._ Larry had always been a good guy, helping with repairs and things like that, and Jonathan didn't want to acknowledge that he was actually dead.

He fed the dog and filled a backpack with stuff he wanted. The phone rang, startling Jonathan. _Should I answer?_ He did.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank God." It was Joyce. "I've been calling every few minutes."

"Yeah, I'm okay Mom."

"Get yourself out of there quickly Jonathan. I don't need you taken too."

"Don't worry; I'm leaving in a couple of minutes." Jonathan answered.

"Just…be safe, honey. Good night, I doubt I'll be able to sleep before you get back."

"Uh huh, good night." Jonathan hung up and prepared to leave. There was one more thing he needed. He went out back to the garage and grabbed the gun and whatever rounds they had. Then he was back in the car for another three hour drive, though this time, he had the dog for company.

When he arrived back at the inn, it was nearly three, and Jonathan made his way over to the room that his mom had taken. He was about to go in, when he paused, his heart pounding. He could hear sobbing from inside the room. The sounds cut straight to his heart. Jonathan slumped to the ground, his back against the door, and his head in his hands. He wanted to get away from it, but something was stopping him from leaving. The wracking sobs continued and still, Jonathan sat there, numb. After a few more minutes of listening to his mom, he felt something snap inside of him; he got up and sat down in the car.

"F***! F***! F***! F***! F***!" He screamed, pounding his head against the steering wheel over and over, before leaning back. He suddenly heard tapping. Jonathan looked up and saw Nancy peering at him through the passenger side window. He leaned over and opened the door, and she slipped in, shutting the door after her.

"Hi." She said dully.

"Umm, hi." He answered. _Did she see me losing it?_ "What are you doing up now?"

"I…I can't sleep."

Jonathan nodded and looked out his window, wondering what to say to her. He wasn't very talkative at the best of times, and now he was in a positively rotten mood.

"It's my parents." Nancy burst out after a couple of minutes of silence. "They won't stop fighting. I had to listen to them all night, bitching on about this, that and the other. And…"

Jonathan turned to face her, putting aside his own pain for the moment. "Yeah…?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Nancy said, getting hysterical. "It's like, one day they're getting a divorce, the next day it's ridiculous to even consider it. And we have to deal with this shit, year after year. And the next thing you know my mom's pregnant again. And now I have no idea what's gonna happen…Oh my God, did I just…?! Oh, my mom's gonna kill me!" Nancy put her head down against the dashboard, miserable.

"Hey, Nancy, I'll keep it quiet, don't worry." He put an arm out to her but her head sprang up and she burst out again.

"Don't worry?! Are you kidding me?!" Her face was full of desperation. "Mike's gone, my parents are breaking up, my mom's having another kid! Now Will and Lucas are gone too, and I'm worried about you! Everything's coming apart and I'm not supposed to worry?! I don't even know what I'm doing anymore! I cut my whole arm open a couple of days ago, for f***'s sake! I'm falling to pieces and there's nothing I can do!"

Her head hit the dashboard again, and she sobbed silently. Jonathan went quiet. _She's right about everything_ , he thought despondently. He put his hand on her shoulder, and squeezed. Her hand eventually came up and covered his, but she continued crying.

"I swear we'll get them, Nancy. I swear we will. Either that or we die in the attempt. I'd rather die trying, than lose them."

"Yeah, me too." Nancy said, her voice a bit unsteady. But she was slowly calming down, a steely look on her face, replacing the despair. "I hate these bastards. I wanna shoot a couple."

"So do I." Jonathan answered. "I wouldn't hesitate to use a gun on these people." He was relieved at her mood change.

She looked at him, a strange expression on her face. "Jonathan, I…I don't even know what to say to you. I mean, Will was barely out of the hospital and now…"

"It's okay, you don't need to worry about that too. Your brother's missing, that's enough to deal with."

"I know, but I'm worried about you. I see the look on your face and…it scares me. You look like you're about to go over the edge, and I…I can't get through this without you. Tell me you're okay, please."

Jonathan hesitated. "I'm not okay. Neither are you. None of us are. I'll try to keep it together but honestly, I don't know what I might do. If I do crack, I apologize in advance because I'll probably end up hurting you." He spoke in a monotone, not looking at her.

Nancy grew frustrated. "Jonathan, stop it! You can't get like this! It freaks me out, seeing you in this shape. You look so numb and...just _angry_ , I can feel the strain just sitting near you!"

Jonathan didn't look at her, instead he got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Nancy ran after him. _Shit! Is this like a fight? Are we fighting? Dammit!_ "Jonathan!" she called after him. "I'm sorry, for whatever I said. I didn't mean anything by it! I'm just worried about you."

He turned to face her. "You didn't do anything, okay? Don't follow. You're better off staying away from me."

Nancy could see that he was struggling not to cry. He turned away from her and ran. Nancy tried to follow him but he was too fast. Jonathan ran blindly into the inky blackness of night, when suddenly he tripped over a tree root and ended up sprawled out on the ground, facedown. It was more than he could take, in a day that never seemed to end, and the tears he'd been holding back all day, finally came. They were raw and bitter, born out of pure desperation and hopelessness.

Nancy heard the excruciating sobs and she struggled to find him in the darkness. She eventually did; he hadn't moved an inch, hadn't made any effort to get up, and his whole body trembled. Nancy hadn't actually seen him cry since that night at the hospital when they'd first kissed. That time had been awful, but this time seemed a lot worse somehow. _F$#! I didn't know how bad he was doing._ She sat down near him and put her hands on his shoulder, pulling him into a sitting position. He was too out of it to resist and force her away. Nancy grabbed him and held him tightly. His head was buried in her shoulder and she stoked his hair, trying desperately to comfort him. _I'd give anything for him to stop crying. Anything_. Nancy struggled to maintain her composure.

"I'm sorry Nancy. I'm sorry you need to see this." Jonathan choked, his words muffled. "I told you to stay away."

Nancy shook her head, and knowing that Jonathan couldn't see her, she spoke. "You don't always have to be the one giving, Jonathan." She whispered to him. "It's okay to take."

He didn't show any response other than to cry harder, if that was even possible, given his current state. Nancy wondered what the hell she could do to help him and she came up blank. _Get the boys back, is what we need to do._ She patted his back, feeling stupid, but he didn't shrug her hand off. Eventually, he ran out of tears and he pulled away from her. Jonathan looked down, embarrassed at his meltdown, even though she could barely see him in the darkness. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead and then, wordlessly, they got up and headed back to the parking lot.

They got back into the car and Jonathan put on the radio. It was now well past four. He stuffed his hands into his pocket and felt something sharp that seemed out of place. Jonathan pulled it out. It was the knife that Nancy had used to cut herself. He'd taken it that night, and crammed it in his jacket pocket. It still had her dried blood on it.

"Here," he said, holding it out to her. "That's yours. Probably more dangerous on me now, anyway."

Nancy took it and examined it. "I guess we're even now. Who do you think has the next breakdown?"

Jonathan smirked and so did she. It was kind of comical when you looked at it the right way. They both jumped when the dog, sitting in the back seat, started barking, as if he was in on the joke.

"Whoa. I forgot about him again." Jonathan said. "His name's Frodo, after the Lord of the Rings guy. Will named him, obviously."

Nancy smiled and patted the dog. "I always wanted one. My mom never allowed it, though. I feel like if I asked her now, then she'd let."

They chatted for a while before Nancy, and then Jonathan drifted off, shortly followed by Frodo.


	10. Chapter 10

Hopper pulled into the Horseshoe Inn lot, at half past six. He'd driven around dark, lonely roads for a couple of hours, listening to _Simon and Garfunkel_ , and lost in thought, before parking in a field and falling asleep. Now, he was back to face reality. Hopper gathered up all the cigarette stubs on his dashboard and got out of the car, tucking in his shirt. He spotted Jonathan and Nancy sleeping, holding hands. _Poor kids._ And then, _I guess I'm not the only one sleeping in a car._

He chucked the stubs into some nearby greenery and headed to the room that Riley and he were sharing. Hopper opened the door and found Riley lying on a bed, reading an old issue of _Guns._

"Preparing for something?" Hopper asked sarcastically, tossing his hat on the empty bed.

"Yeah, maybe I am. There's a new SIG out, I wanna try it." Riley put the magazine down and sat up. "So, what's going on? What's our next move?"

Hopper let out a sigh that seemed to last forever. "I don't know." He said finally.

"Okaaaay. Very helpful." Riley said smirking.

"We need some place where we can check out if the cameras picked anything up. Do we do it here? This place doesn't look like it has enough juice to power a radio, never mind our gear."

"What about everybody else? We can't stay here, they'll all go crazy." Riley said, on a more serious note. "You should've been here last night. Like a damn funeral! It was bad."

"Yeah…" Hopper said, thinking. "We need to find a place to stay. Somewhere big and out of the way." He sank to the bed and was quiet for a while. "Ok, listen, I'm gonna try to get the cameras up and you need to go into town and ask around about a place. This needs to go through you; I can't have my name on any of this. And you should probably use a fake ID, just in case they're already onto you too.

Riley nodded and got up to leave.

* * *

 

Lucas and Will were rudely shaken awake as Eleven was unshackled and pulled out of the room roughly. Lucas and Will protested angrily, which earned them each a bone-rattling, punch to the stomach, leaving them doubled over and moaning in pain. Will actually vomited. They were starving and cold, and pretty scared, but their will wasn't broken yet. They still had some fight left in them.

"We're gonna make their lives hell." Lucas said angrily. Will nodded and was thankful he had Lucas with him. He knew he wouldn't last very long alone. Lucas was more furious than anything. He let out a string of curses at the camera that they'd spotted in the corner of the room.

"Where the hell do you think Mike is?" he asked Will. "Eleven said he was here. But I don't get why he wouldn't be with us."

A couple of hours later, the door opened again and three guys walked in and dumped a body on the floor, chaining it to the wall. It was Mike, but he barely looked like himself anymore. His whole body was battered and bruised, and though he was conscious, he appeared unaware of what was happening.

"You f #$% bastards! What did you do to him?!" Lucas roared at them. They ignored him and left the room, though one of them knocked into Lucas pretty hard on the way out. They tried to reach Mike but couldn't, the chains held them back. Instead they called out to him.

"Mike! Are you okay?"

"Mike, please, talk to us!"

"MIKE! What happened to you?!"

There was no response. He just lay on the floor, curled up, his eyes, dead looking. It was like he couldn't even hear them.

"What is wrong with him?!" Lucas burst out. "He looks mute, a little bit like El the first time we saw her."

Will was quiet as he watched Mike. His heart was pounding and he wondered if this was the new Mike, if there was any going back. And in the back of his head, the thought crept in: _Is this what's going to happen to Lucas and me?_

* * *

 

Riley pulled up outside the inn. Some of their party was hanging out outside, and Dustin was sitting on the roof of a car, looking glum. Riley called out a greeting and headed inside. Hopper was lying in bed, snoring lightly. Riley shook him and he woke up instantly, grabbing Riley's arm.

"Oh, it's you." He let go. "So, found anything?"

"Yeah, met an old guy, seemed discreet enough. He knows someone trying to rent or sell a chunk of property, somewhere in…Wabash County, he said. You know where that is?"

"Yeah, it's between here and Fort Wayne. What kind of property are we talking about? And how soon can we have it?" Hopper asked, his interest growing.

"He said it's a nice spot, private, about fifty acres, maybe a little less. It's got an old ranch house, rundown, but serviceable. He said no one wants it, too much property to keep up, and it's a bit too isolated. Sounds perfect for us. I think we should go out and see it right now."

"Alright, let's do it." Hopper got dressed and was about to exit the room. "Oh! I almost forgot. I checked the footage, and I found them. The Lab has them, they're at the compound. I showed it to the others."

"Hmm." Was all Riley could muster.

They left the motel, after ascertaining that there were enough weapons in the group in their absence. Everyone milled around outside for a while. At some point, Joyce, Laura, and Karen went out to buy stuff. They didn't have much on them, just what they had taken, and many of them didn't even have a change of clothes. They rest of them tried to entertain themselves by reading, taking a walk, and various other mundane activities.

It was past five, when Hopper and Riley returned. They were hogged as soon as they arrived.

"OK OK! QUIET!" Hopper roared, silencing them. "Here's the deal. We found a pretty good place to stay. We've already taken it. So we need to get underway as soon as we can. It's about an hour and a half from here. I'm warning you that the house is pretty dingy, and that's being kind, so we'll have to do some serious cleaning when we get there."

They all looked back at him and nodded their understanding.

"Ok, get your things together, and hurry. I'm sure you're all sick of this place."

They obeyed and twenty minutes, later, they were assembled in the parking lot, their keys already handed in. Hopper distributed radios again and they were underway. They drove for a while, before Hopper pulled them over at a gas station, which featured a convenience store and a Dairy Queen.

"Ok, guys, load up on what you want, there's not gonna be any food tonight, besides for what you buy now."

They swarmed the place, buying out half the store it seemed. Then they filled up their tanks and were off again.

"Ok, coming up soon." Hopper announced after another half an hour, his voice crackly over the radio. They took a turnoff from their already out-of-the-way road, onto another, even narrower and lonelier one. It was dark outside, and it had been a good ten minutes since they'd last seen another car. Hopper slowed down, and they followed suit as they turned onto a dirt road, flanked on both sides by trees that seemed to tower over the road.

"This is it." Hopper announced. "We're now on our property."

Everyone was kind of freaked out. They were from Hawkins, a pretty small-town in its own right. But this was a whole new level of remoteness.

"I like it." Dustin announced over the radio. "It's like Fangorn Forest."

No one had any idea what he was talking about so they ignored him. A couple of minutes later, they cleared the trees and came out into a huge clearing, that sported a ramshackle house and barn. They couldn't see much more in the dim light. Everyone got out of their cars and stretched.

"So this is it, huh?" Greg Henderson muttered. He was not at all happy about the new arrangements. "Does this place even have power, running water?"

"Yeah, it's got its own generator, water supply and septic tank. Guy told us there's a river somewhere on property."

They headed inside and turned on some lights, most of them were a little surprised that the lights went on.

"Oh, damn." Karen muttered, looking around. It was going to take a lot of work to set the house straight.

"Well, let's get to work." Hopper said, rolling up his sleeve. They scrubbed, soaked, disinfected, dusted, washed and dried, for four straight hours. It was close to midnight when they finally stopped. Everyone looked around, satisfied. After a couple of days of nonstop worry and boredom, it had felt good to actually do something. The house wasn't great but it was livable now. They did a bedroom count and came up with six which left them a bedroom short for their party of thirteen.

"I'll sleep on the couch." Jonathan immediately volunteered.

"I guess I'll have to, too." Dustin said. He didn't really mind. He could sleep anywhere at any time. They slowly but surely retired to bed, sleeping well for the first time since their whole ordeal started.

* * *

 

The next morning, Hopper and Riley left early, to go check out the compound again. They didn't really know what they were looking for, but every day that passed lessened the hope that they would get the boys back safely. They couldn't even be sure that they were still alive.

Back at the ranch, everyone spent the morning either sleeping or exploring the grounds. It was quite beautiful and peaceful. There were large, green fields, and a thick forest to hang out in and Nancy rather thought that under different circumstances, she'd love to come out here. The afternoon dragged on, with everyone scattered across the property, when finally, Hopper and Riley returned.

"Well," Hopper called out to the gang. "It's gotten worse than before. They've tightened up security because they know we're onto them. I guess those guys we knocked out at the Wheelers tipped them off." His attempt at humor was not well received.

"What the hell are we gonna do about it?!" Bill Sinclair called out angrily, setting off a whole lot of yelling and arguing.

"SHUT UP!" Hopper bellowed. They fell silent at the threatening tone in his voice. "First of all, we're going to make a surveillance room here. We set up the cameras at some new angles out at the compound, and we're going to monitor them closely."

They headed inside and gathered all the gear in a mostly empty room off the kitchen. Once it was all set up, they watched the camera feed for a while, commenting on the level of security.

"Whoa! Look at this! We'll never get them back!"

"That's a whole lot of protection for anyone who's innocent."

"What are those guns?"

"Are these people for real?"

Riley had to agree with them. The idea of infiltrating seemed preposterous at this point. What were their options, though?

Eventually, they calmed down and returned to the docile mood of the past couple of days. Greg and Dustin went out to get food for dinner and when they finished eating, everyone scattered once again.

Hopper and Riley left the house for a smoke. They walked around the property, encountering Nancy, sitting with her head down, behind the barn.

"Hey, you alright?" Hopper asked her, laying a hand on the girl's shoulder.

She looked up. "Yeah, I'm…I'm fine. I just need some time alone."

They moved along, giving her a wide berth.

"What do you think our next move is?" Riley asked, seriously.

"I don't know. The only way we get the kids back is by storming the place, but I don't see how we can do that. We just don't have the people."

"Well, what if we do?" Riley countered, mysteriously.

"What do you mean?" Hopper said, tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

"I've got friends I can call in. People who can help."

"Yeah, well I don't want to involve more people. I shouldn't have involved you either. Your life is now in danger. But besides for that, I don't really trust anyone."

Riley nodded, understanding. "There is one guy, though, that I'd trust with my life."

"Yeah, but how will that help us? One is just not enough."

They fell silent, smoke billowing out of their mouths. It was Riley who broke the silence.

"There's only one thing for it."

"What's that?" Hopper muttered, wearily.

"We have use what we have." Riley said, looking at him. "We have to train our own force.

 

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, but with a definite chill in the air. It was mid-November in northern Indiana and the weather was turning nasty. Hopper gathered everyone in the spacious living room which sported a fireplace and three faded, but comfortable couches.

"Alright everybody, listen up!" He started, a little apprehensive about what he was about to throw out there. "So we got a problem. The Lab has our three boys and we need them back. Only, the security there is pretty tough. We would need a trained force to get in there with any chance of success. Now that would be pretty tough to find, wouldn't it?"

Everyone looked at each other and nodded or muttered.

"We don't have the people to do this, so there's only one option."

"And what's that?" Dustin called out.

"We'll have to train our own team."

"What? Who?" Karen said, confused.

"I'm looking at them right now." Hopper answered grimly. They looked puzzled and chatter broke out.

"Are you serious?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Us?!"

Everyone was yelling over each other and Hopper struggled to quiet them.

"Ok, ok! Shut up and listen!" They did and he spoke again. "Now, I'm not gonna force any of you to do this. It's obviously all up to you. If Riley and I tried this alone, we'll be sent home in body bags, and that's optimistic. If we have all of you on board, then we've got a chance. More bodies equals more guns, and the more guns we have, the greater our chance of success. We don't know what we'll find in there. We don't know if the boys are alive. All we know is that they're in there and something bad is going on."

"I'm in." It was Joyce who spoke first. "I'll do anything to get Will back."

Karen spoke up. "I'm in too."

"Yeah, me too Mom." Nancy said quietly. "Mike needs us."

Hopper looked at her and opened his mouth to argue, but shut it again. _If she wants to, then who am I to stop her?_ "If you want to do it, it's up to your parents." He said instead. Nancy nodded and looked at her mom.

"Well, Bill and I are in. We're not gonna sit around, waiting on Lucas to reappear." It was Laura Sinclair. Her husband stood beside her, his hand on her shoulder, and he nodded.

"He's our only child, we've got nothing to lose."

Hopper stood with his hands on his waist and looked around. "Okay, so that's five of you."

"Uh, I'm in too." Jonathan muttered from where he sat on a couch. "I thought it goes without saying."

Hopper nodded. "Alright, six."

Ted looked at his wife and daughter who were standing together. He walked over, and in a rare expression of love, put his arm around Karen. "I'll in as well. I won't stand around and wait for my son to die."

The room went deathly quiet and everyone stared at the three. The tension that existed between them was no secret, especially now that they were all cooped up in the same house. Karen felt herself tear up and she buried her face in Ted's shoulder. Nancy moved away, unsure of what she felt about this new development. Everyone turned away determinedly, very uncomfortable and Hopper cleared his throat.

"Well, that's seven then, add Riley and I and we've got nine, not too bad."

"Ten." Dustin said, suddenly.

"What?" Hopper asked him uncomprehendingly.

"Ten, I'm going too."

"Don't be stupid. You're what, twelve?"

"No! I'm almost fourteen. And in case you want to know, I'm going through puberty too."

Everyone burst out laughing and the pressure that hung over the room, eased significantly.

"That's funny kid, but you're not going. You're just too damn young." Hopper said, still smiling. "We can employ you as our comedian, though, your job will be to keep the morale up."

Dustin didn't appreciate this. "I'm serious! My three best friends are gone and I want to help. I'm pretty strong and if I can handle a gun than why can't I go?"

"Because I won't allow it." Reina Henderson told her son. "I don't need you killed in the action. I'm in." she said, addressing Hopper. "Although, I'm overweight, so I don't know what use I'll be."

Riley spoke up from where he was lounging on a couch. "That's not a problem; we're not exactly running a marathon here. All I'm gonna teach you guys is pretty much how to handle a weapon and shoot."

"Exactly! Why can't I…" Dustin began before being silenced by his mom.

"Ok, you sure you want to do this, Reina? Your kid isn't even…" Hopper asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. These people are bastards and I know they would take Dustin in a heartbeat." She answered, defiantly. Then she turned to Greg. "Are you in, or are you gonna give some half-assed excuse to get out of this?"

"Calm down, honey, I'll do it." He said to Hopper.

Hopper paused for a moment. _So the kid gets his mouth from both of his parents_. "Alright folks. This is it then. I guess we start tomorrow?" he said in Riley's direction.

"Yeah, we need to go get some supplies and things like that."

"OK, well, for today, rest up, get something to eat. The real work starts tomorrow." Hopper left the room, a little overwhelmed. Every bone in his body was telling him not to put these peoples' lives in danger, but there was no alternative.

* * *

 

Hopper and Riley left the ranch and started out.

"So, where's the closest military supply place?" Hopper asked him. "I assume you've got a way to buy all these things we need?"

"Yeah, I can get us a nice stash." Riley answered mysteriously. He stopped the car at a phone booth and disappeared in there for a while.

"Alright, I found us a place." He said, settling back in the car. "This may not be strictly legal, but we gotta do what we gotta do. I've used this before. It's run by one of my shadier friends. Kinda like a black market but they don't just sell to anyone."

Hopper was a little hesitant, but he'd broken too many laws to count already. _What the heck? I don't have anything to lose._ They drove for a couple of hours, with Hopper giving Riley directions when asked, and finally arrived at a rundown warehouse, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

"So this is it, huh?" Hopper said, as they drove up to the entrance. Riley got out and had a word with an armed guy who appeared to be the guard. He flashed a couple of badges and the guy nodded. Riley got back into the car, and they drove in as the door to the warehouse opened.

"Whoa!" They were on the top level of a cavernous room that descended a few stories down. They pulled into a half-empty makeshift parking lot and got out.

"Damn! How come I've never heard of this?" Hopper exclaimed. He was getting excited.

"We like to keep things quiet. It's kind of a military secret."

They looked down from the balcony, and saw four levels, packed with all sorts of combat gear and weapons. There was even a section that sported vehicles like tanks, Hopper noted.

"Okay, let's get to work." Riley said, heading for the nearby elevators.

They descended to the lowest level, where a directory in the elevator told them the weapons were.

"Wow! This place is great!" Hopper felt like a kid in a candy shop. They got to work, stocking up on all sort of handguns, tranquilizers, and assault rifles. Then they moved on to tactical gear, including vests and headgear. After that, they found a bunch of training equipment, like weights and sandbags.

"Don't you think we're going a little overboard?" Hopper asked Riley as their pile grew.

"Nah." He laughed. "No such thing. I'm gonna drive them mercilessly."

"Why don't we get a tank, while we're at it?" They laughed and continued piling things on.

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed lazily, with everyone trying to kill time. Now that they had a plan, the worry lessened to a degree. There was a nervous energy that permeated the house, though. Dustin sat on the front porch, with Frodo, in an angry mood.

"I'm useless here." He complained to the dog. "I mean, tell me one good reason why everyone else can risk their lives but not me?"

Nancy came out and sat down near him. "Hi." She said quietly. She used to think of him as one of the most annoying things in the world, just behind mosquitoes. Now she admired him, he was a tough kid, willing to risk his life for his friends.

"Hello." He said, even quieter. He had never quite gotten over his crush on her.

"It sucks, you know. This can't be easy for you. Everyone disappearing and you being caught in the middle."

Dustin looked at her, a little surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Nancy smiled. "It's obvious. I haven't seen you smile once since this all started."

Dustin went quiet. "I just hope they're okay. I don't know what I'd do if…if any one of them dies. It was bad enough with Will, last time, but now it's all three of them. It's just such shit."

"Yeah, you put it well." Nancy agreed. They sat in comfortable silence for a while before heading inside as night fell and the temperature dropped.

* * *

 

Joyce was sitting on her bed, lost in thought, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." she called.

Jonathan slipped in, shutting the door behind him.

"Hi Mom," he said, sitting down beside her.

"What's up?"

"I…um…I wanted to apologize…I know I haven't really been here for you. We haven't talked since…" Jonathan mumbled. He hadn't been alone with his mom since telling her about Will. It was becoming really awkward. He took a deep breath and continued. "I…I heard you crying that night at the inn. I guess I…it scared me off."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry you had to hear that. Please don't apologize; I know this is hard enough without having to worry about me." Joyce said. His face was down and she looked at him, trying to see if she was getting through to him. It was so difficult to know with Jonathan.

He muttered something that Joyce couldn't hear. She put an arm around him.

"Damn, you're strong." She said, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't even crack a smile, which was unusual.

"What's bothering you, Jonathan?" she said finally.

He stared straight ahead. "I…just…what if he dies?"

"I don't know, hopefully it doesn't happen."

"Yeah, but what if it does? What if he's already dead?"

"I don't know. But I know that nothing's gonna change between us, okay? However this turns out, Jonathan, I'm here to talk. And if it does happen, don't withdraw inside yourself and shut everyone out. That's the worst thing you can do."

"I can't live without him, not after this whole year." Jonathan said quietly. "I'd rather die, storming the place, than not get him back."

"Oh Jonathan, don't talk that way." Joyce looked at her son and frowned. Seventeen year old kids shouldn't be worrying about their little brothers dying at the hands of evil, experimental government agencies. She hugged him to her. "I don't know what's gonna happen, honey, but we're all in this together."

Jonathan pulled away suddenly, he wanted to get away. _Why did I say that to her? To make her worry more?_ He berated himself. "I love you, Mom." He said hastily, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, I love you, baby." Joyce said, a little confused. Jonathan quickly left the room and escaped out into the open air.

 _What is wrong with me? Why can't I pull myself together? There are ten other people in this house and none of them are falling apart like I am. What is wrong with me? Damn it!_ The worry never went away anymore. He'd wake up five times a night, with a knot in his stomach and his heart racing, he'd been living that way for a year now. He barely ate anymore either. _What is wrong with me?_

* * *

 

Lucas and Will spent hours trying to reach Mike, but it didn't work. Every time he blinked, they got excited, but the disappointment was quick to follow. They didn't know how much time passed, it could've been hours, or days, but Eleven was finally thrown back into the room, blood streaming from her nose.

"Eleven! What's going on?" Lucas asked immediately. She was shackled back into place near them, also unable to reach Mike.

She just shook her head, wordlessly, and looked at Mike.

"Come on, Eleven. We need to know what's happening." Lucas begged, desperate for something.

She looked at him and Will. "Bad. Monsters trying to get Mike."

"What?! Mike was in the Upside Down?"

"Yes."

"And there were monsters after him?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?" Lucas asked, frustrated. _Why can't she give me a straight answer?_

"Cameras."

"Cameras? What do you mean? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Lucas yelled at her. She burst into tears and he immediately regretted his explosion. "I'm sorry, El." He said, taking her hand. "I didn't mean to scream."

She nodded and soon she was sobbing on his shoulder, glancing at Mike every few seconds. Will was quiet throughout the whole exchange; he had a sinking feeling that they were next, and sure enough, less than an hour later, they came for him.

Will didn't put up much of a fight, he was far too weak. Ever since being taken, he'd been having trouble breathing and he'd been off his medication for a while too, not to mention that they barely got anything to eat here. Just bread and water twice a day. He was taken down the same path as Mike, unbeknownst to him. Past the blast doors, into a room, through more blast doors, and finally, into the cavern that housed the monstrous gate. He was forced through, and his heart sank as he entered the Upside Down once again. _I'm not gonna survive this time_. The thought just popped into his mind, obtrusively, and he struggled to fight it, as he pulled on the suit that they shoved in his face. _You'll get out of here. Hopper's on their trail, he knows where we are. They're not gonna leave me here to die._ He was transported in an open vehicle to a random location and left there alone, just like Mike. _Monsters. The monsters are gonna get me. There are more of them here_ …

He waited for hours, glad that the suit kept him warm at least. The never-ending cold of the Upside Down had been one of the worst parts of his ordeal. Now the fear was what overpowered him. Will made no effort to move, knowing that it was useless. Finally the monster came.

Will tried to hide, tried to muster up the strength to run, but he couldn't, he was paralyzed by fear. The monster started advancing on him and he prepared for the end. _I love you Mom. I love you Jonathan_. He repeated over and over in his head, willing them to hear him somehow. After a few minutes, it came to him that he was still alive. He opened his eyes and looked around. The monster was right there, just a couple of feet away, but something unseen was holding it back. It's hands were stretched out as if struggling with an invisible opponent. It was moaning hideously and its whole body was convulsing. Will ran for his life, trying to remember what way he'd come from. He didn't care if the Lab got him again, anything was better than being stuck here.

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Chapter 12

Riley and Hopper finished setting up a makeshift gym in the derelict barn.

"That looks about right." Riley smirked. "Now, they're in for a bit of a rude awakening, literally." It was just past six and training was about to begin, only everyone was sleeping.

"Grayson." Hopper's tone was serious; he rarely called his friend by his first name. "Don't push them too hard. Some of them are already at their breaking point."

Riley nodded, serious for a second, but then an evil grin spread across his face. "You're doing this too. Don't think I haven't noticed that beer belly of yours, old boy." He said, punching Hopper in the stomach. He groaned and punched back.

"I can give as good as I can take." Hopper replied.

They headed to the ranch and Riley set off a screeching alarm. Slowly but surely, they woke and straggled out of bed, tired and disoriented.

"Training starts now." Riley called out, trying to hide his smile. "Put on some sweats and get out to the barn, don't bother wearing a coat."

It was freezing outside, about thirty degrees, and they looked at him like he was crazy but they complied. Hopper and Riley headed out to the barn.

"Talk about a rude awakening…" Hopper muttered. Riley was enjoying this a little too much. The trainees arrived in groups of two and three, Dustin among them.

"What?!" he yelled, when he saw them both give him a look. "Don't tell me that I can't even prepare with everyone!"

"No, that's fine." Hopper said, after thinking about it. _Kid's right._

"Okay, each day starts at six with an hour of weight training." Riley called out. There was a bit of an outcry to this from Reina.

"You said you were just showing us how to shoot." She said accusingly.

"Plans change. " He answered, cryptically. "Girls on this left, boys on the right." He went around and set everyone up based on their capabilities. After a while in the freezing barn, they started to appreciate Riley's directive not to wear a jacket. They were hot and sweaty and each gust of wind that blew through the room was a breath of fresh air.

"By the way, you all should get gym clothes for tomorrow. You guys are gonna be ripped after I'm through with you." Riley called out, coaching them up. It had been a long time since he'd been in the military and he now realized how much fun his drill-sergeants must have had. _I think I'm a lot nicer, though._

"Are we, like, supposed to do this every day?" Greg called out, sweat beading on his forehead. He was thirty years removed from his college track-and-field days, and his body knew it.

"Hell, yeah. Be happy you're not waking up at four-thirty, that's what they did to torture us."

"Yeah, except, I never signed up to be a Marine." Greg called out.

They grumbled their way through the workout and when it was over, they all sighed with relief.

"Okay, I think it's about time for breakfast." Dustin said happily.

Riley chuckled. "Good one. Everybody out on to the field. We're going to be doing some track."

He lined them all up and got them jogging. "Remember, this is not a race. Don't run, keep up a steady pace, this is about endurance."

"Is this really necessary?" Hopper muttered, disgruntled, to Riley, who was jogging beside him.

"Hey, they need to be in the best shape they can in just a few weeks, right? So a forty-five minute track workout can only help." Hopper was too out of breath to respond; instead he put his head down and continued jogging.

By the time they finished, it was past eight. "Now can we have breakfast?" Dustin wheezed, doubled over.

"Yeah, go ahead. We start weapons training at nine thirty."

Everyone trouped back into the house, exhausted. They were all tempted to collapse in their beds, but their stomachs won out. The kitchen was full as everyone tried to make themselves something to eat.

"Here's an idea:" Hopper called out. "Why don't we have someone be in charge of the food each day, and they'll be excused from training?" They idea was met with some skepticism, but they took a vote and most of them were on board. Probably just because they wanted a break from the physical labor.

At half past nine, they were back outside, where Riley had set out an array of weapons of all shapes and sizes. He'd also hung a bunch of targets on some nearby trees.

"Ok, now this I can do." Greg muttered to himself.

Riley gave them a brief class on gun parts and how to operate them. "Now, we'll see which of you has any natural talent and which are gonna really have to work at this."

They lined up and took turns trying to hit the targets. It was a mixed bag. Greg, Bill, Nancy, Joyce, and of course, Hopper, ranged from decent to excellent but the rest were rubbish.

"Ok, Jim, you take this lot, and try something a little more difficult, while I teach these guys the basics." Riley told Hopper. They split into two groups and Riley got to work on some fundamentals, like posture, distance gauging and things like that. By the end of their session, they had gotten down the essentials and were feeling pretty pleased with themselves.

Riley shouted across the property to Hopper and they regrouped. "Okay guys, lunch break and maybe a nap, but then we're back at it. One-thirty."

They headed back to the house, drained and tired. Most of them opted for a nap before eating, but not Dustin, obviously. He went into the kitchen and prepared himself a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and sat down on the couch to eat it.

"Why don't we have a TV here, we could really use one." He said to no one. Holly walked in and sat down near him.

"I'm hungry." She proclaimed.

"Yeah, no shit." Dustin said, before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Oops." Even he knew not to cuss in front of little kids. The pair headed to the kitchen and Dustin made her a sandwich like his. "You and me, huh?" he said to her. "We're the odd men, or kids, out. You, me and the dog."

One-thirty came and they hung around outside, wondering where Riley was, when he showed up, grinning mischievously.

"Follow me." They were back in the barn but with a new setup, there were now bars and benches strewn all over the room. "You guys are now gonna build some abs." he said enthusiastically. Everyone looked at each other, dreading the coming torture. Riley set them up doing a variety of maneuvers, including crunches, chin-ups, and push-ups.

"Damn! Do you have any idea how Charley-horse we're gonna be tomorrow?" Hopper said through gritted teeth, while bench-pressing.

"Well, you're not getting a break." Riley said. At least he had the decency to do the exercises along with them. When they were all moaning and were ready for a mutiny, Riley stopped them and they headed outside, sore and sweating.

"Alright, in the future, we'll do some running at this point, but I'll go easy on you today. Instead I'll introduce you to some more gear and we'll do more target practice."

They were relieved to say the least, and were eager to try out the guns again. Hopper and Riley showed them the Kevlar vest and the helmets they'd gotten, and everyone oohed and aahed over the state of the art equipment; they were all quickly becoming gun enthusiasts.

Finally, at a quarter to five, Riley called them off as it was starting to get dark. "Good job, guys. Rest of the night's yours, do whatever you like. Although, the gym's always open."

"No way in hell." Karen called out. Everyone laughed and gave themselves a hand. They'd worked hard, perhaps harder than they'd ever worked, and were drained but satisfied. The non-stop training kept their minds off of their missing loved ones. They headed inside, starving, but no one was really in the mood of cooking a meal, so everyone piled into some cars and headed off. They picked up food and also stopped at a department store to stock up on a host of things they needed.

When they got back to the ranch, everyone collapsed, utterly exhausted. Slowly but surely, each of them showered and hit the sack. By ten o'clock, it was just Riley and Dustin who were still up.

"How you doing, kid?" Riley asked as the two ate their way through a jumbo bag of Doritos in the kitchen.

"I'm fine, just a little mad." Dustin said. "I don't get why I can't come. If I can shoot a gun, then what makes me different? I was better today than some of the others."

"Listen, everything we're doing here is because there are kids' lives at stake. Now when we're trying to get your friends back, we don't want another kid getting hurt. It kind of defeats the purpose. Besides, your parents won't allow it."

"Would you let?" Dustin pressed.

"No. When we go in there, I don't want a kid with us. I mean, if you got hurt, that would be on my head." Riley pulled out a pack of Winstons and started working his way through it. Just thinking about their plan, made him nervous. _They're good people. I should call in some of my friends and do this_. Riley stood up and headed outside.

"Get to sleep, kid." He told Dustin, turning back.

* * *

 

Lucas was starting to get really nervous; Will had been taken yesterday, or at least Lucas thought it was yesterday, then they'd taken Eleven many hours ago, and Mike was still unresponsive. Lucas kept up a running conversation with Mike, trying to engage him, but it was useless. He tried talking to the other kids in the room too, but they didn't even look at him.

"Gaaahhhh!" he roared in frustration. He started cursing at the camera again, digging deep into his vast inventory of cuss words. Soon after that, the doors opened, and Will was dumped into the room. Lucas waited for the men to leave before shifting over to look at him.

"Will?" he asked hesitantly, afraid that he too would be in a comatose state. But Will gazed right at him.

"What happened? What did they do?"

"I was back in the Upside Down." He whispered, shivering, his teeth chattering. Lucas put his arms around Will, trying to warm him up. "They have a huge gate here. It's as big as a building and they drive cars through it. They dropped me in middle of nowhere and I waited there for hours. The monster came and I thought I was dead, but it didn't attack me, it was like it couldn't. So I ran, but they picked me back up and here I am."

Lucas looked at Will and finally realized what was wrong with him. He kept flinching and wincing, as though someone was circling him, waiting to attack.

"Hey, Will. Did you get hurt?"

"No." Will shook his head vigorously.

"You're fine now, you know." Lucas was trying his best but he knew it was kind of lame. They were not fine by any standards. They were being held hostage and being experimented on by a bunch of evil bastards.

"Where's Ellll….Eleven?" Will asked, quivering. "She was here when they took me."

As if on cue, the doors opened and Eleven was brought in, and shackled to the wall. She looked at them, and burst out crying when she saw Will.

"What's wrong, El?" Lucas asked, turning his attention to her.

She shook her head. "No. It's good." she choked.

"What?"

"Will." She was all she said.

"Will is good? What do you mean?" Lucas asked, anxiously.

"Monster didn't get him."

"Oh. Wait, how do you know this stuff?" Lucas asked, trying to understand. "Hey! Are you…are you the one who stopped the monster from getting him?"

Eleven nodded and looked at Mike, new tears forming in her eyes.

"Did the monster get Mike?" Lucas continued.

She shook her head. "Monsters." She said.

"So there were a few monsters, and they got to Mike?" Lucas asked.

Eleven nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I couldn't stop them." She whispered.

Lucas felt a strange sensation in his chest. It was burning and tight. Eventually, he realized that it was because of Eleven. He felt awful for her. Lucas put his arms around her, trying to soothe her.

"It's not your fault, El. I'm sure you did everything you could. It's these bastards here, they're the ones who are responsible for all this."

"Bastards?" she asked through her tears.

"Yeah, you know, the Bad Men. It's a word you call a bad guy." She nodded and filed the information into her memory.

Will spoke up. "Hey, Eleven," the name sounded weird but he continued. "You saved my life. You did really well. That's actually twice you saved me." He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. She looked at him, her eyes wide, and nodded. She didn't know him but if he was one of Mike's friends then he was okay.

"Thank you." She said simply.

Will shook his head. "No, thank you, Eleven. I can't imagine what it's like, being stuck here for a year without anyone. What do they do to you?"

Eleven shook her head. "Bad things," Was all she was willing to say.

"They'll come for us, El. I'm sure of it. And then we'll all get out of here." Will said, wholly unsure of it himself. She looked at him with renewed hope but her face fell again when she saw Mike.

* * *

 

Nancy woke up, aching all over. She had pushed herself hard and now her muscles were cramping. She got out of bed, pulled on a sweatshirt, and groaning, she shuffled into the kitchen, looking for some painkillers. Nancy went through the cabinets, looking for anything that might help. Everyone kept buying stuff and she had no idea what they had in the house. Finding nothing, she moved on to the bathrooms, but she came up empty there as well. Frustrated and aching she headed back into the kitchen, unable to sleep due to the pain. Nancy was just making herself a coffee when Riley walked in, reeking of smoke.

"You smell." She pointed out to him.

"Yeah, bad habit." He said sitting down at the table.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Nancy asked, sitting down opposite him.

"Not these days. Too much on my mind. So what are you doing up?"

"My muscles are killing me. I can't sleep and we have no painkillers."

"Hang on," Riley said, getting up. "I've got some aspirin." He was back a minute later with a bottle. "Never go anywhere without some."

Nancy took a pill. "This is just aspirin, right?" she asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't use any prescription meds."

She downed it and he continued. "Lot of vets are hooked on opioids because of the pain. You get all sorts of cramps after years in the military. I've lost too many friends to count because of goddamn overdoses."

Nancy nodded over her coffee. They sat in silence for a while.

"You close with your brother?" Riley asked suddenly.

"Um…yeah and no. Like, up to a year ago, we didn't get along at all, but then everything happened and since then, we're much better. I mean, Jonathan is way closer to his brother than I am. But, yeah, Mike and I are pretty tight these days." She finished off.

"Yeah," Riley said, gruffly. He noted how she spoke in the present, meaning she still believed they were alive. "We'll do everything we can to get them back. I know how it is, losing a brother and I don't wish it on anyone here."

"You lost a brother?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah." Riley said. Maybe it was the late hour or maybe it was the constant stress. Whatever the reason, Riley found himself talking. "Three years ago. He was in the Air Force, home on leave, got hit by a drunk driver, and died a few hours later. He'd just been promoted to Group Captain, too." Riley pulled out another cigarette.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Nancy said. She meant it and he could tell she was being genuine. "What was he like?"

"Hmm…Neil was always the lightweight. You know, he was always trying to catch up to us, my two older brothers and I. But he was damn tough. And funny too. He went into the Air Force because he wasn't a big guy and he became one hell of a pilot. He quickly shut us up." Riley smiled. "He was good at the sucker punch too. Used it a lot on us. It was his only chance to win."

Nancy smiled and finished her coffee. "Hey thanks for the aspirin, I'm feeling a bit better already." She said to him, getting up.

"Yeah, sleep well. You got another long day ahead of you." Riley said, putting his feet up on a chair.

 

**To Be Continued...**


	13. Chapter 13

They were back at it early the next morning, minus Laura who was taking kitchen duty. There was not a single one among them who wasn't completely sore, but they pushed on. There was less chatter than there'd been the previous day. Everyone was a little more serious and got straight to work. Hopper sensed the mood and he left the room. Ten minutes later, out of nowhere, this happened:

_BUDDY, YOU'RE A BOY, MAKE A BIG NOISE_

_PLAYING IN THE STREET, GONNA BE A BIG MAN SOMEDAY_

_YOU GOT MUD ON YOUR FACE, YOU BIG DISGRACE_

_KICKING YOUR CAN ALL OVER THE PLACE_

They were all a little shocked, at first; it was rather loud and jarring. But then Hopper walked in and saw their expressions. "Just thought we could all use a little brightening of the mood." He said, his hands raised.

They relaxed and got back to work, the atmosphere a little less tense. The rest of the day played out much like the first. They were all worked to the bone and didn't have much time to talk and hang out.

A week passed; they grew stronger and saw their shooting improve drastically. Nancy, in particular, was getting better and better, to the point where she and Riley would train alone.

"You can be our sniper," Riley told her one afternoon, half-joking.

"Do we need one, when we go in?" Nancy asked, thinking he was serious.

"Oh! I was kidding, just meant you got good aim. Truth is, we haven't mapped out a plan yet. Hopper's working on it, though."

Nancy nodded and got back to work. She liked training with Riley; he was quickly becoming like a big brother to her. He was always patient and kind, even when delivering criticism and he knew how to lighten the mood when needed.

"How much longer?" Nancy asked. "Until we infiltrate?"

"I'd say about two more weeks. Maybe a little more."

* * *

 

Lucas's days passed in barely-contained panic. He watched as Mike and Will and the other kids were taken and returned, wondering when his turn would come. Will came back each time, quieter, more shaken, and more despondent. Mike, meanwhile, still hadn't spoken and Lucas couldn't stop thinking about whether he would ever be the same again. Eleven was hardly ever in the cell anymore, and Lucas wondered if they were forcing her to hold off monsters all day.

Finally, the day came when they took him. He went through the whole process, prepared. Will had described it to him, bit by bit. _Well, here I am, monster fodder, unless Eleven can stop them_ , Lucas thought as he was thrown out of a vehicle, in the middle of a sick-looking forest. He waited and waited, and eventually, the monster came. Only it wasn't alone. Another hideous looking creature was with it. They weren't quite the same thing, the new monster was shorter and thickset, but they both looked real enough. Lucas tensed and got ready to run, but then they stopped advancing, writhing. Lucas walked closer to them, cautiously. _Thank you, Eleven,_ he thought, wondering if she could hear him somehow.

He was suddenly overcome by an urge too strong to shake, and he started punching the old monster, over and over. It howled and convulsed, but Lucas continued.

"You son of a bitch! That's for what you did to Mike! And that….is for what you did to Will! And that….is for Eleven. And that….is for being an evil bastard…." He went on and on, laying punch after punch until he was grabbed from behind by strong hands.

* * *

 

Hopper left the house on a Thursday night, promising to be back before twelve. Riley was once again the only one up at that time. He waited outside, as the minutes passed, growing more and more concerned. At half-past two, he'd had enough. Riley got into a car and was about to head out when he saw a light swerving up ahead. He jumped out of the car and looked at the approaching headlight. The incoming car came right up to him, and he had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit.

"Shit!" he said, spotting the driver. It was Hopper and he was bent over the wheel, obviously drunk. "Hey! What the f***, Jim?" Riley yelled as the door opened and Hopper stumbled out.

"I…I…stopped for a…" Hopper slurred, doubled over. Riley grabbed him by the front of his shirt, furious.

"Hey, listen man! You been off your meds, or something? Because this is not acceptable, Jim. You hear me?! I'm not gonna put up with you like this! It's a wonder you managed to get back here at all!" Riley continued shouting. Hopper was too addled to answer; instead, he swayed on the spot. Riley put an arm under him and half-dragged him inside.

"One more time, Jim, and I'm done," Riley said to him, dunking his face in the kitchen sink, under freezing water. "I'm not dealing with you on booze."

Hopper was coming back to himself, slowly. "I…I'm sorry…I…I don't…know how it happened…." He chattered. He quickly became very emotional and down, and started crying, hunched over a counter.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it…"

Riley looked at his longtime friend, unsure of how he felt. He was furious with him and disgusted, but he knew it was an addiction, and Hopper honestly couldn't help it.

"Hey, Jim," Riley said, putting an arm on his shoulder. "You've been sober for over a year now, don't give that up. I need you. All these people need you now. You can't go drowning yourself in booze at a time like this."

"I know, I know," Hopper said, swaying; his head still quite woozy.

There were footsteps in the hallways and Jonathan walked into the kitchen, the sounds had woken him up. When he saw what was going on, he started backing out, but Riley stopped him.

"Hey, give me a hand with him."

Jonathan obliged and they helped Hopper to his bed. He was now muttering, and whimpering and Jonathan hurried out, desperate to get away. Riley followed him out.

"Drunk."

"Yeah, I know," Jonathan answered.

"He's had a problem with it for a while now. Ever since his daughter died. He's off and on, usually triggered by some kind of stress. Not too hard to figure out the cause, in this case."

Jonathan nodded, waiting for Riley to let him go. "You look scared," Riley said, questioningly.

Jonathan shrugged. "It's nothing. I have experience with this stuff."

"Oh. Sorry." Riley turned around. "Who?" he said suddenly.

Jonathan paused. "What?"

"Who do you know who's an alcoholic?"

"Oh. My, uh…my father." Jonathan shifted uneasily.

"Oohhh…I was wondering where he was. Worthless deadbeat, is he?"

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, just about."

 _Man, these people's stories get more and more tragic,_ Riley thought, humorlessly. "Well, hopefully, he'll be back to himself by morning." He said.

Jonathan nodded and headed off, to catch a couple of more hours of sleep. He and Dustin were still stuck sleeping on the couches in the den. When he came back, Dustin was sitting up and looking around.

"What's going on?" he asked, his hair a tangle of knots. "I heard a commotion."

"It's nothing," Jonathan answered hurriedly, not in the mood for a discussion.

"Okay, it was nothing. But what _was_ it?" Dustin asked, not letting it go.

"Hopper, he got drunk, alright?" Jonathan said rather irritably.

"The Chief? That's weird." Dustin was genuinely surprised.

"Not really, he's always…" Jonathan trailed off. "Keep this quiet, okay? We don't need everyone knowing."

Dustin nodded and lay back down, pondering this new information.

* * *

 

Will was cold and his whole body ached. The starvation and lack of fresh air was wreaking havoc on his already weakened body. His trips to the Upside Down were increasing and the horror they entailed was getting to him. He knew Eleven couldn't hold the monsters off indefinitely; one of these days, they were going to get to him. Will was also pretty sure that they were now making Eleven hold off multiple monsters at once. He was often taken out of the cell with other kids, and being dropped off at different locations in the forest. None of the other kids talked, ever. They were like Mike. Completely mute.

 _That's what's gonna happen to you_.

He was trying to hold onto hope, but as the days passed and nothing happened, he slowly lost faith. _Where are they? Why aren't they coming for us? Are they all dead_? The thought popped into his head and he began to panic. _What if they're all dead? What if they killed Mom and Jonathan? They killed Larry, so they probably killed them too_. The idea came to him one night, while he was in the Upside Down, waiting for a monster to show up, and it took over his head. A few minutes later, it became a fact in his mind. _They're dead. It's over._ Will gave up and he felt himself shutting down.

* * *

 

Hopper woke up, his head spinning. His memory of the night before was fuzzy. He'd gone out, to get away, then he'd…come upon a bar. _Oh Shit! I must've gotten wasted._ He jumped out of bed, his head aching and his body, fatigued. _Where's Riley?_ He walked through the empty, quiet house. _They must all be out training_.

Hopper found him sitting in a car, snoozing. He tapped on the window and Riley shook awake and got out of the car.

"So, you're back up and running, huh?"

"Riley, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. I know that's lame, but I am. It's embarrassing how little control I have. What was I like? I don't remember a thing."

"You were a mess, crying all over the place," Riley said, not mincing words.

"Shit! I'm sorry. It won't happen again, that's a promise." Hopper's face burned. _I need to get a grip on myself!_ He massaged his forehead, trying to steady the pain. "So…how much longer until they're ready?"

"A week, I'd say," Riley answered. "We really need to get to work, planning the attack."

"Yeah, okay. How about we go out there tonight, to scout the place out properly?"

"Yeah, good idea."

That evening, they left to the compound. It was a solid, three-hour drive, so they started out as early as possible. There'd been an outcry when they announced their plans. Half of them wanted to come along.

"I mean, we're gonna be breaking in there in a week! Shouldn't we see it first?" Joyce had argued.

But Hopper had won out. "We can't have extra people there, we might get caught that way." He'd said.

The two pulled over a good mile outside the compound and ditched the car. It had been over two weeks since they were last here. In addition to the scouting, the cameras had stopped working and they needed to replace the batteries. Hopper and Riley scaled, dug, and trekked until the clearing came into view. They quickly changed the batteries and then got to work, painstakingly mapping out the place. They'd brought a camera and they circled the area, photographing the compound. They looked for any weak spots and difficult areas. They searched for good hiding places and good vantage points. They scoured every inch of the place, taking notes and drawing diagrams.

It was more than two hours later when they finally got back to the car and started the long journey back to the ranch.

"You think we've got a chance?" Riley asked Hopper. "That place is tough."

"I do think so. It's not like they have any heavy concentration of guards. Sure, there's a lot of security, but if we've got ten people who can shoot fairly well, then yeah, we can do it. Plus, you're forgetting the most important factor, and that's the element of surprise. Why the hell would they be expecting us?"

"Jim. What do we do afterwards? You plan on shooting to kill, or do we want to knock them out instead? How are these people gonna be safe, even if we do get them all back?"

"Oh, we're shooting to kill, or at least we are once we're inside the building. The guards may not be in on the full story, but anyone inside must know what's going on. I don't think this place is strictly under government rule. I think Brenner used to be under CIA control, but now he's gone rogue. I spoke to some people I know at the CIA and those who have heard of him say he's a bad actor. I hear he's tight with someone higher up, who gives him the license to do what he wants. So my thinking is this; if we take out this whole operation, then we pretty much kill the beast. We stay under the radar for a while, and I think it'll blow over because they'll be glad that this place was shut down. It didn't exist in the first place, right?"

"There are a lot of flaws in that thinking," Riley answered skeptically.

"Yeah, I know," Hopper answered. "My main concern, though, is that Brenner won't be there when we go in. I want to get rid of him at all costs. I think that's the key to this whole mess. If he's gone, I don't think the Lab operates anymore. And if this thing doesn't blow over, then I'll just have to take the fall."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. What choice is there? I'm willing to do it, if it means that everyone's safe." Hopper answered, gripping the steering wheel.

"Wow, Jim. I mean, you could be looking at the death sentence."

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that," Hopper answered.

"Hey, I'll be right beside you," Riley said, clapping him on the back, causing the car to swerve.

"Don't be stupid," Hopper answered. "You've got a life."

"So have you." Riley countered.

"Really?" Hopper scoffed.

"Yeah, you do. You have just as much of a life as I do. You see any wife and kids here? No, you don't. But that doesn't mean I have nothing to live for."

"Alright, enough of this," Hopper said. "We're not here to ponder the meaning of life."

They both chuckled and drove the rest of the way home, bantering. When they pulled into the dirt road, leading to the ranch, they felt a sense of calm.

"There she is. Home sweet home." Hopper said, giving voice to their feelings.

"You know, I'm really gonna miss this place," Riley added. "Maybe I'll actually buy it when all this is over."

* * *

 

Mike was trapped in his own head. He couldn't feel anything anymore. The people in the cell looked familiar and he tried his hardest to remember what he knew, but his mind wouldn't cooperate. His whole life began and ended in the Upside Down. The monsters had gotten to him and he could feel them on him, even now. He'd been in their presence for nearly an hour. Strangely enough, they hadn't really hurt him, but they'd touched him and breathed on him. It had been pure torture and had messed with Mike's head. All he saw, heard and felt were the monsters. Their clammy skin, their putrid breath, the awful, spine-tingling, mind-numbing sensation they gave off. The sound of their shrieking in his ear. Their ghastly heads in his face….


	14. Chapter 14

The big day was moving closer, and they all trained harder than ever. Riley had added in a martial-arts session to their workouts, and they became familiar with chokes, holds, strikes, and throws, as well as a crash course on bullet wounds and various other injuries. They had all put on quite a few pounds of muscle and were fitter than they'd been in a while. Hopper, meanwhile, had removed himself from most of the training and spent hours holed up in the surveillance room, often joined by Riley, planning the attack.

On the night of December 9th, they were all called into the dining room for a major meeting. Mike had been missing for just over a month and they'd been training for nearly as long.

"Ok, guys, this is it," Hopper announced. "We're going in on the 13th; that's four night from now. I'm gonna lay out the plan now, so we'll have a few days to go over everything. We have some pretty detailed maps and pictures, so you guys can become familiar with the compound. Okay?"

Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Ok, here goes:" Hopper started, a little nervous at the reception his plan would receive. He pulled out a stack of pictures and maps and started outlining the plan, showing them the various places he was referring to. "OK, first of all, there's the whole roadblock to take care of. What we're gonna do is this; Riley will lead a group in, through our route, which is pretty much over a wall and under an electric fence. I don't see the point in sending everyone that way; it'll just slow us down. They're gonna take care of the guards outside the building and come back to deal with the roadblock. That way we'll flank them, from the front and back. Next, we're gonna…" They all listened carefully, asking questions occasionally. When Hopper finished, the room was quiet as they digested the whole presentation. It was a tall order, what they planned on doing, and they were becoming really nervous, despite their extensive training.

"What about Holly and me?" Dustin asked, breaking the silence. "Where are we gonna be?"

Hopper looked at him. "Oh, I've got an old friend, Frank, who's gonna come over. He doesn't know much, though, so don't spill the beans."

 _So while everyone's off playing the hero, I'm stuck here with a babysitter_ , Dustin sulked.

"What do we do afterward?" Ted asked. "If we're successful." He added, quietly.

"Well, we're gonna come back here and lay low. We'll figure this out as we go along." Hopper answered, a tad defensive.

They dispersed and tried to occupy themselves, largely unsuccessfully. Karen, Reina, and Laura sat in the living room, talking. Joyce and Hopper went outside to grab a smoke. Ted and Bill headed to their rooms. Riley and Greg sat in the kitchen discussing the plan. Jonathan headed to the gym. Nancy tried playing with Holly, and Dustin went on a walk with Frodo.

* * *

 

Lucas couldn't hold out much longer. It had been three days since Will had cracked. He now spent most of the time staring blankly at the wall and would respond to Lucas's questions with one-syllable answers. Eleven hadn't been in the cell for a full week, and Mike was still unresponsive.

Meanwhile, the trips to the Upside Down increased at an alarming rate. The Bad Men would come in and grab four or five of them at a time, each day. Lucas worried about the strain it put on Eleven. He still hadn't been attacked by the monster, so that meant she was still alive, but he wondered how much longer she could keep it up, especially holding off multiple people's monsters.

Lucas had tried to make a run for it, quite a few times, but his attempts had all failed miserably. All they'd earned him were a few blows to the head and a couple of punches in the gut, and after his sixth try, he'd given that up.

"They'll come." He said aloud to himself. "They have to."

Meanwhile, he kept himself distracted by trying to keep Will from freezing to death. Lucas would sit with his arms around him, trying to transfer some of his body warmth to Will.

 _Come on, Will. Don't disappear on me now. Please._ Lucas found himself praying. He wasn't at all religious and hated going to church, but now, in that miserable cell, it was nice to think of someone listening to him.

 _I'm the last man standing, the last_ …Lucas thought drifting off.

* * *

 

The day of the assault dawned gloomy and wet, as though reflecting their mood. Everyone was up at the crack of dawn, and some, like Hopper, hadn't slept at all. They milled around the house, trying to get some food down, and going over everything they'd learned, in their heads. At around one, Hopper assembled them in the living room and they went over the whole plan again. It was completely unnecessary, as they'd spent every spare minute over the last few days reviewing every aspect. But, it was something to do, so they all listened.

At around six, Frank, Hopper's friend, arrived. Hopper showed him around and he set himself up in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee and a thick book.

"Alright, I don't really know when we'll be back, so…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm here as long as I need to be."

"Frank, there's…there's a chance we don't come back. So, if that happens…" Hopper trailed off.

"I got it. I don't want to know more." Frank got up and embraced his old friend. "Take care."

"Yeah, thanks, this means a lot."

Hopper walked back into the living room. "OK guys, it's time."

They trooped to the barn, where all their equipment waited, ready for use. Hopper and Riley went around, helping them all suit up in the black fatigues they'd picked out. Next, they put on their vests and each received a helmet. Last, came the weapons; they each got a tranquilizer gun, an assault rifle, and lots and lots of ammunition. Dustin looked on, jealous.

"You guys are seriously cool looking. We need pictures." He ran back to the house and got Jonathan's camera. "Okay line up, we need a team photo." He directed them. They obliged and Dustin snapped away, getting in as many shots as he could. That done, they stood around, looking at each other, restlessly.

Hopper cleared his throat, glancing over at Riley for support. "Ok. This is it. Now, anyone who wants to back out now, don't be embarrassed, it's completely understandable…"

"Shut up, Hopper." A few of them called out.

"Ok, then. Umm. Alright." Hopper fumbled.

Riley stepped in. "Listen, guys, you're gonna be okay, but it won't be easy. You'll be shooting people and I'm guessing none of you have ever killed a person. You'll go into shock, that's normal. You might vomit, you might feel faint, all normal. Remember your training, remember why we're doing this. After the first stage, we'll be moving together so that should help. If you feel you can't continue, don't feel uncomfortable; tell us. Okay?"

They nodded, somber.

"Remember what they did, guys," Hopper added. "We checked the cameras and Brenner is there right now. He's mine when we get to him. They killed Benny for no reason. They killed Larry Mercer for being in the way. They caused Barbara's death." He glanced at Nancy, who had a steely look in her eye. "They took our boys, and we're gonna get them back. We're gonna unleash hate on these bastards."

Everyone clapped a bit, but the applause quickly petered out. They left the barn and made for the cars, as a light rain started to fall. Dustin, Holly and the dog watched them.

Greg and Reina walked over to Dustin and hugged him. "We love you, Dustin." He nodded, barely containing the tears that threatened to spill.

Karen and Nancy hugged Holly and Ted stood by awkwardly. "We'll be back soon, honey," Karen told her, kneeling to be at her eye level.

Finally, after their goodbyes had been said, the procession of cars headed off on the three-hour trip to the compound.

They pulled off the road, a mile away, and got out of their cars. The drive had been one of the most nerve-wracking experiences any of them had ever been through. They were glad to finally be starting. The rain was coming down in sheets now and visibility was low. Riley pulled them all into a huddle.

"Here you go, guys," he said, distributing some radios. "When I give the word…"

"We know," Hopper said shortly.

"Okay, here we go, Ted, Greg, Laura, and Nancy on me."

They looked at each other. Karen pulled Ted to her and he held her. Bill looked at his wife of twenty-eight years. They'd waited a long time for Lucas, and they couldn't imagine losing him. Laura kissed him on the cheek.

"We'll get him back tonight, Bill." She whispered.

Greg pulled Reina to him and kissed her. "Take care, Greg. Don't do anything stupid or heroic." She said to him with a tight smile.

Jonathan looked at Nancy, his heart pounding. _Imagine doing all this, and getting the boys back, but she gets hurt._ He pulled her aside.

"Nancy…"

She smiled up at him, sadly. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I…just be careful…stay close to Riley, okay?"

She nodded. "I can take care of myself, Jonathan."

"I know you can, but…" he looked at Nancy and, instinctively, he leaned in and kissed her. It lasted for just a second and Jonathan pulled back, a bit embarrassed at his emotional display.

"Just be safe." He said simply.

"You too," Nancy whispered back.

Karen then started on Nancy. She threw her arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly.

"I know we haven't always gotten along, honey, and I…" Karen said, but Nancy cut her off.

"Mom! We'll see each other in an hour. I'm not dying."

Hopper and Riley observed everyone's goodbyes.

"Are we supposed to kiss too?" Riley asked him, cheekily.

Hopper managed a grimace. "I just can't shake the feeling that we're making a big mistake with this. I mean, look at them; I should never have agreed to this."

"Hey, hey. It was my idea and I'll take full responsibility if anything happens. Besides, they all know the stakes, and they're all doing this on their own accord," Riley argued.

"Yeah, but they're desperate," Hopper countered. "It's not like we offered them any alternative."

Riley was quiet.

"Just…pull them out, if things go south, okay?" Hopper said.

Riley nodded and looked over at Hopper. "We'll do okay. These folks are good."

"Yeah, take care," Hopper said, putting and arm around his old friend. They shared a brief, manly embrace, and then it was time to go.

The group started off. It took them a bit longer to get through the barriers than it had taken Hopper and Riley, but they made good time nevertheless. When they got to the clearing, they took stock of the situation. It was just like it looked in the pictures, so they were well prepared.

"Ok, there are…seven guards to take out. There's five of us," Riley said. "We're using our tranquilizers on these guys. You're all gonna pick a target and Nancy and I are gonna take two, that okay?"

They nodded and proceeded to point out their target, making sure that they weren't overlapping. The rain made things a little more difficult, but their helmets kept their eyes clear.

"Main thing is, this needs to be quick and quiet, so they're not alerted." Riley continued. "On my mark. Ready, set…go." Five tranquilizer darts hissed through the air simultaneously, each burying themselves in the flesh of their target. Before the other two could even respond, they too were hit.

Riley whistled. "Nice work. Damn!" But his congratulations was short-lived. "Okay, reload, we could have company at any moment."

They began circling the buildings, looking for any stray guards. They found two, behind the smallest building, and quickly dropped them, before the guards were even aware of their presence.

"Alright," Riley called out, as they returned to their original post. "Time to head for the entrance. That should prove a little more difficult. Let's go, but watch your back!"

He radioed in, to the other group, as they moved down the tree-lined road towards the barricade.

* * *

 

"Time to move, guys!" Hopper announced. They donned their helmets and started trudging towards the entrance. They approached cautiously.

"Where are you, Riley?" Hopper whispered over the radio.

"We're here. On the other side. Can't see you, but we see them. There's a lot of them."

"Yeah, there's a lot of us too. Ok, get your team ready." Hopper whispered back. "On my mark everyone…fire!"

They all started shooting randomly. Eight guards fell on the first wave but at least as many remained. They looked around wildly, drawing their weapons, but they couldn't make out anyone in the heavy rain. Hopper's team quickly reloaded and dropped four more, while Riley's team did the same for three. Hopper saw the last guard go for his radio.

"Oh no you don't," he whispered, pulling out his pistol. Taking a split second to make sure the silencer was on, Hopper pointed and shot, killing the last guard.

The two groups reunited at the blockade.

"Any injuries?" Riley called out in greeting.

"No. All good, you?" Hopper answered.

"Nothing. That was flawless." Riley said, grinning. "Man! I forgot how much fun a raid was. Whoo!"

"Hey, calm down," Hopper said. "That was the easy part."

But everyone was feeling upbeat. They'd been really nervous about the infiltration. Now that they'd seen phase one work, their confidence was building and they were eager to continue.

"Come on, let's go!" Karen called out. She could sense that Mike was close and was desperate to see her son again.

"Yeah, let's go kill these sons of bitches!" Greg yelled.

"CALM DOWN!" Hopper roared. "We're going inside next. Things become far more dangerous. They're gonna become aware of us pretty soon and then we'll have their full force on us. So calm the f*** down!"

Their grins quickly slipped off their faces. They started jogging up the path, sloshing through the muddied rain-water. The buildings came into view.

"Where we going into first?" Bill asked.

"We cover the smaller ones first," Hopper said.

They made for the smallest building, which was a solid two-story structure. The group burst in and opened fire on the bewildered inhabitants. They were still using the tranquilizers, so they didn't feel much guilt, watching the people drop. They quickly covered the first floor and then the second. The people they encountered didn't seem to even be armed. None of them fought back, they just looked at the intruders blankly, as though not really registering their presence.

They moved on to the next building, this one a low, sprawling, one-story edifice. It was apparent from the moment they entered, that this building was the living quarters for those who worked at the compound. It was very quiet and they tiptoed through the countless rooms, finding many people asleep in their beds. The gang shot each person with a tranquilizer. It took a while to cover the entire building, and they ran into a large group, both in the kitchen and in the rec room. But, everyone was unarmed, so they dispensed with them fairly easily.

"We're leaving, like, a trail of destruction," Nancy commented, looking at the bodies sprawled all over. She felt no regret, though, just determination.

"Ok, guys," Riley called out, as they regrouped outside. "Here comes the real work. You need to switch to your assault rifles now." They did so and looked at him expectantly. Riley crossed himself and took a deep breath. "Stay alert, don't hesitate to shoot, and be safe. Here goes."

They followed him to the main building.

 

**To Be Continued...**


	15. Chapter 15

Riley tried the front door but it was locked. He pointed his gun and shot it out, destroying any security mechanism that was in place.

"Well, they know we're here now," he said, breathing heavily. "Alright, everybody get in formation."

They formed a circle like they'd practiced so that they were covered from every angle. Hopper, Joyce, and Bill took the back, Riley, Nancy, Greg, and Ted took the front, and the rest flipped between the two as needed. The group moved in, hyper-alert.

"Here's the drill:" Riley began. "We see people coming towards us, we look and see if there are any weapons. If you feel threatened in any way, shoot. If they appear to be harmless, we'll knock them out the old-fashioned way. We're not here to kill everyone but we will if we need to and if there are guns. Got it?" They all nodded. No sooner had he spoken, then they spotted a group of people in lab-coats, heading their way. They were on them immediately and went to work, knocking them all out, one by one. It was over in less than fifteen seconds.

"Nicely done," said Hopper, massaging his knuckles which were aching from a particularly hard jaw he'd encountered. They moved on, exploring each room in their path. Most of these were empty or had just a couple of unarmed people in them. The group continued on and were rounding a corner when they met their first bit of trouble. There were seven suited guys standing around, with some very obvious bulges in their jackets. Just as the men turned to face them, Riley and Greg opened fire, but the rest just watched in horror, as blood pooled on the floor around the bodies.

"No one said it was gonna be pleasant," Riley said, seeing their reaction. "This is war. A war they started, so get used to it."

They continued on, sidestepping the corpses littering the ground. They covered the entire ground floor and headed up to the top floor (the fourth) where things were pretty quiet. On the third floor, they found a single, wide, brightly lit hallway, swamped with guards. This time, they all started firing immediately. The guards reacted quickly, drawing their weapons, but by the time the first shots were fired on their part, it was too late. Their bullets left holes in the walls and ceiling, as they fell to the ground, fingers still on their triggers.

By this time, everyone had fired their gun at least once, but they didn't have time to stop and think about what they'd done. They walked out into the hallway. There were just two doors; one on the right, one on the left. They chose the right one first. Riley kicked the door and was surprised to find that it opened. He stopped dead, looking around, in amazement, at a massive room that was clearly some kind of laboratory. Numerous figures in white, full-body suits were hurrying about, quite oblivious to his presence. Riley quickly scanned the room for weapons; none of them appeared to be armed. He backed out.

"Okay, guys. Everybody switch to tranquilizers besides for you three," he said nodding at Hopper, Ted, and Joyce. "This is some kind of laboratory and they don't appear to be armed, but there's a lot of them. Everybody ready?" They nodded. "Okay. Jim, you guys watch our six."

They headed into the giant room and started firing freely. Once the workers became aware of their presence, many of them ducked behind the long tables that littered the room.

"Okay, this is shit!" Laura cried out. "Any of them could pull a gun on us."

"Calm down," Riley said evenly. "Let's do this methodically. We start on this end and work our way around the room. Keep your eyes open."

They crept along, taking out one person at a time. It was nerve-wracking, knowing that anyone could pop up and shoot them. They were nearing the last table when their worst fear came to pass. A lone figure rose up and fired a pistol in their general direction, causing Greg to fall back. Before the guy could fire a second time, Riley dropped him. His eyes still scanning the room, he called out.

"What do we got?!"

Greg was groaning, but he was very much alive. "Goddamit!" he roared, clutching at his elbow. Reina hurried over and knelt beside him.

"You got shot?" she asked, her heart pounding.

"Yeah, babe. I'm okay though, it's not bad." He grunted.

"Hang on, Greg. We'll be with you in a second. Just need to finish this room," Hopper told him. The group covered the area, extra cautious this time. When they finished, Hopper ran over and examined the wound.

"Bullet's stuck in there," he said, grimacing. "Damn. Okay, we're gonna wrap this up now. How bad is it?"

"Not too bad," Greg said, between clenched teeth. "Luckily it's just my left arm. I can still shoot."

"I'm not too sure about that," Riley said, coming over. He examined the arm. "Yeah, you shouldn't be moving that, the bullet will just mess around a little more in there."

They made him a sling for his arm. "Alright," said Riley, getting up. He handed Greg a pistol. "This needs just one hand. You good?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

They regrouped and took a moment to breathe. "Where do you think the boys are?" Karen asked, impatiently.

Hopper and Riley exchanged a meaningful glance. They both knew it was a distinct possibility that the boys were dead. The others hadn't even considered it yet.

"They'll probably be underground," Hopper said. "At the lab, I found the room where they kept Eleven underground. So, if they're operating the same way, then…"

Riley passed around a few water bottles he carried in his pack. They were all hot and sweaty, mostly due to the stress, but also because of the fatigues they wore.

"Alright, everyone okay?" Riley asked, hoisting his gun. One by one, they nodded. Greg's injury had a sobering effect on the group and they just wanted to finish the job.

Riley led them across the hallway to the other door.

"Probably the same format…" Nancy muttered. Riley poked his head in and turned around.

"You're right." They burst in, the same as before, firing freely. They made quick work of the room this time and were soon heading down to the second floor, which they found quite empty.

"I don't like this," Riley said after they stormed their fifth straight deserted room. "I feel like they're waiting for us somewhere."

It was past twelve when they all got into an elevator heading underground. There was a light moment when they saw the elevator capacity and were all doing the math in their heads.

"I think we're good; unless we weigh an average of 350 pounds?" Hopper joked. They laughed, but it was tinged with nervousness.

"Weapons ready!" Riley called as the door started to open. They revealed a long, hallway, dotted with a few people, one or two in strange suits. Everyone opened fire, not holding back now that one of their number had been shot. They certainly didn't want to be next. When the hallway was clear, they emptied out of the elevator and crept along.

"We're getting to the heart of their operation now," Hopper said, examining the suited bodies that lay sprawled on the ground. "Look at this getup."

They continued on, checking rooms as they went. A couple had to be blown open but most doors were not locked. They came to the end of the hallway and Riley kicked the door open. It was a good thing he did. A hail of bullets came flying at them. They all dropped to the floor and got their guns ready. When the bullets had stopped, Riley poked his gun through the door and let loose a barrage, followed closely by Hopper, Bill, Jonathan, and Karen. There was no return fire, so Nancy stepped up to take her turn. That was the exact moment that shots were fired and they watched, almost in slow motion, as Nancy fell back. Karen's heart fell to her knees. _No. no no! Not my daughter, too. Not Nancy!_

"Nancy!" she screamed. She wasn't moving. Hopper's heart pounded as he moved to examine the girl. _Oh God, please…please…Not her_ , _not now._ _Please_. Jonathan crawled over (they were still under assault) and watched as Hopper flipped Nancy over, his head spinning. _She's not…she can't be…_

"Oh, thank God! There's a pulse." Hopper breathed once again the rest of them followed suit. Nancy stirred and opened her eyes to find everyone staring at her.

"I'm ok," she gasped. "Vest caught it." She'd taken a bullet to the chest and it ached, making it difficult for her to breathe. She tried to sit up but Hopper forced her down.

"Stay down. I'm gonna look at this, is that okay?" Nancy nodded. Hopper undid her vest and examined it. "Yup, the bullet's stuck right here. Wow. This must've really winded you." He checked her breathing and found it to be relatively stable, given the circumstances. Then he moved onto her ribs but found nothing wrong there.

"A lot of people break a rib, due to the impact." He explained. "Okay, you can sit up now. Here…have some water."

She accepted the bottle, and slowly she came back to herself. Hopper gave her a hug. "You're one tough kid," he muttered. For one awful minute, he'd thought she was dead and if that had been true, he'd never have forgiven himself.

Jonathan took her hand and squeezed it. Seeing her move again was perhaps the greatest relief he'd ever felt. He quickly moved away, though, so that her parents could get to her. This latest turn of event shook him, and now, any reservations he'd had about their operation, were gone. _I want to kill as many of these bastards as I can,_ he thought as he reloaded his rifle.

Karen took Nancy's helmet off so she could see her daughter properly. "Oh, Nancy…" she hugged her tight, tears pooling in her eyes, at the thought of what they'd come so close to.

"I'm okay, Mom." She said. "Just shaken." Nancy understood, though, and she patted her mom's back, reassuringly. Ted wordlessly came over and hugged her. He didn't say anything, but she could feel the tension and worry in him.

Riley, meanwhile, had been firing nonstop, through the crack of the door. Eventually, he pulled back.

"It's like they got a goddamn security team in there…" he muttered, reloading. He and Hopper convened off to the side, as Joyce took a turn to fire.

"How's Nancy?" he asked immediately.

"She'd fine, just give her a few minutes."

Riley nodded. "When I saw her drop, I swear, I almost…" he trailed off. "We need to finish this quickly."

Hopper nodded. "Problem is, the quicker we go, the more danger we're-" He was cut off as he spotted two people coming down the hallway. "Where the hell did they-?!" He quickly emptied two bullets in them. "See what I mean? We missed those guys."

They regrouped, everyone sneaking glances at Nancy to make sure she was okay. She realized and shook her head in amusement. "I'm FINE, guys. That vest saved my life."

There were no more shots being fired at them, so Riley decided to test his luck. He opened the door a crack and looked in. "Ok, it looks like there's six or seven of them left. We're gonna burst in firing so that they can't get a shot off."

They followed his direction and soon the room was clear. They looked around at what must have been thirty to forty bodies that littered the room. Blood was running across the floor in little rivulets and they all felt a little sick at the sight.

"Come on," Riley said. They crossed the room, which was large and open, and looked a bit like a mess hall, and came out on the other side, to another hallway, though this one was darker and colder. "We're close. I can feel it."

They went through the only door in the corridor which led to another hallway; this one sported quite a few guards. They fired, dropping the suited men in one round. The group was becoming really good at this; all the hesitation was now gone. They went down the hallway, coming upon many unlocked doors, that led to rooms sporting strange machinery, tables or nothing at all. At the end of the corridor, there were double doors, through the glass of which they could see another hallway, but there was also one more door to their left. A heavy one, made of steel, by the look of it. Riley and Hopper walked over and tried to figure it out but it was useless. They weren't getting in.

"We'll have to take someone alive," Hopper supplied. They burst in on the next hallway, guns blazing. Under the cover of their fire, Riley knocked the gun from the nearest guard's hands and collared him. The guard struggled, but the 6'5, ex-marine, was too much for him. He gave up struggling and Riley dragged him back to the steel door.

"Hey mother******, you're gonna open this door for us, or…" Riley mimed shooting him in the head.

The guy didn't respond. "You see all those bodies? That's gonna be you in three seconds if you don't do what we ask."

"You'll shoot me anyway," the guy answered coolly.

"True," Riley answered. "But it'll be with one of these," he said holding up a tranquilizer dart. "Instead of this." He said, hoisting his assault rifle.

The guy knew he wasn't lying by the tone of his voice. "Okay." He went to work on the door and a minute later, it clicked open.

Riley wasted no time in sedating the guy and then they headed inside, guns at the ready. They quickly lowered their weapons as they saw the room's inhabitants. There were two little kids chained to the wall by their ankles. "What the f***?" Riley exclaimed, looking at them. He'd never seen Eleven or any other kids like these. They didn't even glance up, despite the fact that eleven people had just poured into the room.

"Jim, figure this out. I'll watch our backs," Riley said, positioning himself at the door.

Jonathan found his eyes being drawn to the little kid. He looked around five or six and was shivering in the thin gown he wore. He felt himself growing angry, furious, at the people who had done this. There were bruises up and down the kid's arms and legs. He knew what abuse was and he knew that this boy had been beaten down, to the point where he no longer cared or felt. Hopper shot out their shackles from the wall, causing the slightest of winces from the two.

He knelt down to be at eye-level with the older one. "Hey, can you hear me?" he put his hand on the kid's (he thought it was a girl) shoulder. She flinched at the contact but didn't look him in the eye. "Hey, it's okay. We're here to help you. Do you understand me?"

Still no response. They all looked on, their hearts' breaking for these two emaciated, broken kids. Hopper stood up. "We're not gonna get anything from these two. We gotta figure out what to do with them now."

Riley looked over from where he stood at the door. "We'll have to leave some people here."

At this, there was an outcry from the group. No one wanted to stop now, especially when their sons/brothers were still out there. In the end, Greg and Reina volunteered to stay. "I guess it's only right," Greg said roughly. He shook hand with Hopper and Riley. "Good luck."

"Yeah. If we don't come back, at least get these two out of here safely. We still got the radios so we can communicate. If you run into any trouble, let us know."

They moved on, through the next hallway, which featured more empty rooms with strange contraptions in them.

"I don't even want to know what these are for," Hopper muttered.

They finished covering the floor and headed back to the elevators, passing Greg and Reina on the way. They went down even further. There was only one more level passed the one they were heading to. Everyone was nervous about what they'd find. The thoughts were starting to creep into their heads that perhaps the boys weren't alive, especially after encountering the two kids.

As the doors opened, they opened fire again. This time they were facing a room with about twenty armed guards. They were at a disadvantage, though, since they were in the elevator and sure enough, it wasn't long before one of them was hit. This time it was Laura. A bullet grazed her leg and she fell back, groaning. Soon enough the battle was over and they surrounded Laura.

"How bad?" Hopper asked while bandaging her leg.

"I don't know," she answered, as Bill helped her up. "I think I can walk." She tested out her leg. "I could use a shot of morphine. We have some, right?"

Riley administered the shot and they continued. Hopper noticed her biting down on her lip as she walked. "Laura, you sure you can…Maybe you should go wait with Greg and Reina?"

"No. I'm in this till the end. We need to find the boys," she said, pushing on.

Hopper was suddenly struck by the strength of these people. They had all put their lives at stake tonight, not knowing what they would find. _These are some tough sons of bitches_ , he thought.

The group continued on and found lots of resistance. They were now engaged in a gun fight in nearly every room they entered and it wasn't long until they incurred their next injury. Jonathan had taken over Greg's spot in the front line and had been a bit too enthusiastic entering one of the rooms. He fell back clutching his shoulder where the bullet had hit. Joyce immediately ran over to him.

"Oh shit! Jonathan! You okay, honey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," He grimaced, looking down at his shoulder. He could see the bullet lodged in his skin. The others finished the room and then Riley walked over.

"Huh. Looks like a .45. Damn! That must hurt. I'm gonna get it out."

Jonathan bit down as Riley forced the bullet out. "Oh…shit," he muttered.

"Done." Riley examined the bullet and then handed it to Jonathan. "Something to remember this night by."

Jonathan managed a smile and took it. His shoulder burned but there wasn't much blood and thankfully, it was the left, so he could still manage a gun.

"Alright, let's go," Hopper called out. They continued on, working their way from room to room. The floor was massive and it seemed like it never ended. They came to the end of a long hallway and found themselves facing another steel door. Riley performed the same routine on another guard and soon they were heading in, hopeful that this was where the boys were. They walked into a large room full of monitors, each manned by a single person. The group made short work of them and headed for the door on the other end of the room.

Riley kicked it open as usual and then they were in. They froze as a man standing with his back to them, turned around. There was no mistaking that face. It was Brenner, scarred and ghastlier than ever. His face contorted as he saw the lot. He knew that this was the end of the road for him. Hopper lifted his gun, his barrel even with Brenner's forehead. They locked eyes and Hopper pulled the trigger, causing Brenner to crumple, blood pouring out of the bullet hole in his head.

They all breathed heavily at the sight of the dead monster in front of them. The satisfaction would come eventually, but right now they were haunted by the man's pitiless eyes and grisly expression, as he fell to his death.

It was a moment or two later before they became aware of another person in the room. Her back was to them and she faced a screen with many images flashing.

Hopper dared to hope as he looked at the girl. _It can't be…_ He'd long since given up on finding her and he was haunted every day by what he'd done to her.

"Eleven," he whispered.

 

To Be Continued...


	16. Chapter 16

The girl turned around and Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy gasped. They were the only ones in the group who had ever seen Eleven. Nancy ran forward and threw her arms around the girl, who flinched. Then she realized what was wrong. They were hardly recognizable in their current getup. Nancy removed her helmet and looked the girl in the eye. "Hi, Eleven."

Eleven's eyes flickered in recognition. "Nnn…Nancy?" she whispered, barely audible.

"Yeah, I can't believe you remember my name," Nancy said looking her over. She was really thin and weak looking and there were marks and scars up and down her arms and legs. "What did they do to you?"

Hopper pushed forward and bent down to look at her. "Eleven, do you know where the others are?"

She nodded, wordlessly.

Hopper took a deep breath. "Are they alive?"

"Yes." She said, holding his gaze.

They all looked at each other and almost laughed with relief. Eleven turned back to the screens and screwed up her forehead in concentration. Images started flashing once again.

"Oh my God! Did I just see Mike?!" Karen called out after a moment, taking a step toward the screen. "I did! There he is!"

The screen kept flashing through dozens of images and Eleven's eyes were now closed as blood started running from her nose. After another minute, she stopped suddenly and turned around to face them.

Hopper was mystified. "Where are they?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"Upside Down. Monsters are hunting them."

"Okay, okay," Hopper muttered to himself. "Can you find them in the Upside Down?"

"Yes."

"Are you able to come with us?"

"No," Eleven said, firmly. Then she turned back to the screen and performed the same routine.

When she was done, Hopper addressed her again. "Eleven." He hated the sound of her name on his lips. It made him feel like such a bastard. He looked at the girl and the guilt was so overpowering that he couldn't speak for a minute or two. _The girl's been tortured here for a year because of me._

"Are you communicating with the boys now?" he asked finally.

"No. The monsters."

"So you're communicating with the monsters?" Hopper asked, perking up.

"Yes."

"Are you holding them back from the boys?"

"Yes." She said, tears springing to her eyes.

"Hey, hey! You'll be fine, Eleven. We just need you to hold them off a little longer, okay?" Hopper said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded but the tears started falling. Hopper stood up, his hand still on her. "We need a couple of people to stay here with her, while she does whatever it is she's doing."

There were no volunteers from among the group. They were so close now.

"Alright, I see. Stay here. I'll go get Greg and Reina to come here. Stay put." Hopper ran out of the room and retraced their steps back to the elevator. He didn't run into a single person, though he remained on high alert. _We did a damn good job._

He radioed into Greg to let him know that he was coming. Even so, when he walked into the cell, Greg's gun was aimed right at his face.

"Jesus! Put the gun down."

"Hey, could never be too careful. What's up?"

"We found Eleven."

They gasped. They'd never seen her but they'd heard all about her over the past month.

"Yeah, you'll see for yourself. Come on we need to move." Hopper looked at the two kids. "They talk yet? Any reaction?"

"Nothing," Reina answered. "Not a word."

"Can they walk?"

"I don't know."

Hopper gently picked up the bigger one. He barely felt her weight. "Okay, Reina, you take the other one. Greg, you gotta be quick with that gun in case we run into trouble."

He nodded and they were off. The trip was thankfully uneventful and soon they were back in the room with Eleven, who was back to looking at the screen.

"Any trouble?" Hopper asked.

"No, all good," Riley answered.

"Okay, here goes; we're gonna finish this floor and head downstairs where I'm pretty sure the Upside Down will be. Greg and Reina are staying here." He now addressed Eleven who had turned back around.

"Can you communicate with us through the radio, even while we're in the Upside Down?"

"Yes," she said shortly, nodding.

"Ok, good. So we'll radio in and then she'll tell us where to look. Everyone on board?"

They all acknowledged him with a nod and got up to go. Hopper stayed back for a moment, glancing at Eleven. _Should I say something? Do I…_ He shook his head to clear his mind and left the room without a backward glance.

They finished clearing the last two rooms on the floor and then were back in the elevator heading down to the lowest level. An ominous feeling enveloped the tight space. This was it. The last leg of their horrific ordeal. The doors slid open and they came out into a large open room. There were a few people milling around, and a couple of them were smoking. When they saw the new arrivals, their mouths dropped.

"What the f***!" One called out before being dropped by Ted. The people were all unarmed so they switched to tranquilizers and started knocking them out but Hopper stopped them.

"Hang on, we may need one." They paused as Hopper wrangled a scrawny guy, and then continued firing. They moved across the room and came upon the first blast door which had a daunting contraption beside it, that appeared to be for security.

"So, now you're gonna open this for us," Hopper told the guy, squeezing his neck. He was thoroughly enjoying this. "Or you die. How about it?"

The guy immediately complied and got to work on the apparatus. They went through the door and came upon the second and then the third.

"Is this like a bunker?!" Nancy asked. "I mean, come on!"

The third blast doors opened and they entered a giant, high-ceilinged room with many suited people hurrying to and from. Most of them didn't even glance at the newcomers but those closest to the doors looked over and froze.

"Open fire!" Hopper called out, sounding a bit tired. It was now past three and they'd been doing this for over four hours. Their training had paid off, though. It was as if they had a real team, perhaps not of marines, but definitely common soldiers.

The workers dropped one by one until there were none left standing. Hopper turned to the guy he'd nabbed.

"Nice and efficient, eh?" he said grinning. His face became more serious. " Okay, start talking. Everything you know."

The guy looked at the bodies lying on the ground. He gulped and then started speaking. When he finished, Hopper whistled and then whipped out a recorder he'd had concealed. He clicked it and put it back in his pocket.

"Thank you. That'll come in handy. We still need you for these doors, though." He then addressed the group. "Alright, you heard him. We need to change into these suits now, in that room there. The radiation here is ridiculous, even with the suits on."

Nancy suddenly gasped. "Mom!"

Everyone turned to her.

"What?" Karen asked, perplexed.

"You can't come in there. The radiation…you're pregnant." It was not a secret anymore, Karen had started showing a couple weeks back.

"She's right," Riley said. "No way in hell should you be exposed to this with a baby on the way."

Karen protested but she knew they were right. Eventually, she gave in and Ted and Nancy quickly escorted her back to the room where the others waited. They let Eleven know that they were about to go into the Upside Down.

When they returned to the lower level, everyone was getting into hazmat suits. As they changed, they took turns watching their captive. At last, it was time to go. They would have made quite a comical sight, if not for the high stakes. They went through the first blast door, then the second. As they approached the third, everyone's nervousness ratcheted up a few levels. No one had spoken for the last ten minutes.

The final door opened and they walked into the cavernous room. Hopper wasted no time and stuck a dart in the guy's neck as the others took care of the rest of the room. A minute later, and it was just them and the monstrous, breathing, mass that dominated the massive chamber. They stared at it in shock and horror for a while before Hopper brought them back to the task at hand.

"Okay, guys, this is it." He said, his voice slightly muffled through the suit. "Now I don't know what we find in there. Make sure your guns all have enough ammo and stick together."

Hopper checked in with Greg and then they were off. They stepped through the enormous gate and came out in the Upside Down.

"Man! It's hard to breathe." Riley gasped. They all slowed their breathing and adjusted to the thick air with the help of some oxygen from the suits. It was then that they spotted the building.

"What the hell? What is this now?" Hopper asked, resignedly.

They stumbled over and checked out the building, quickly dealing with the occupants.

"Okay. Here we go," Hopper said, pulling out his radio. He tried to check in with Greg once again. There was no response. He was just starting on a string of curses when the radio crackled. Then Eleven's voice came over the speaker, quite clearly.

"Straight…go straight."

Hopper suddenly spotted a couple of open-backed vehicles that looked a bit like military transport trucks. "Everybody into those." They managed to pack into one and then they were off, Riley driving and Hopper managing the radio. They followed Eleven's directions, amazed at what she was doing. She would tell them about things that weren't even in their view yet. The radio went blank for a moment and they assumed she was doing her Monster-stopping once again.

When she came back over the radio, she sounded on the verge of tears. "Hurry," she pleaded. Riley floored the gas and they sped up, dodging trees at a furious pace. Finally, they heard a horrible shriek in the distance.

"Oh, Lord." Laura cried, trying to cover her ears. It was a bestial, chilling sound, one you could only hear in a place like the Upside Down. They burst into a clearing and there it was. A spindly creature, similar to the Demogorgon but with three, snake-like heads and about a foot taller. They all opened fire, and the thing shrank back, not quite dead but bruised and bleeding in many locations. It was then that they spotted the cowering figure at the far edge of the clearing. He looked up, his face frightened.

"LUCAS!" Laura cried out, her heart pounding.

"Mom?" he whispered, not daring to believe it. "Mom!" he ran over to them and stopped before his mother, not quite daring to believe that it was her. Bill and Laura pulled the heads off their suits as Lucas stared. Pretty soon his lips started quivering and he threw himself into his parent's arms, sobbing hysterically.

"It's okay, Lucas. We got you, boy. It's over." They held him until Hopper cleared his throat.

"Um…I'm sorry, but we need to get going."

Bill picked up his son and carried him back up into the truck and then they were off again. Laura stroked Lucas's hair as they drove. He'd lost about twenty pounds and appeared so weak that he could hardly walk.

"What did they do to you, baby?" she whispered. He buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed harder. _It's over. I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay_. The relief was too much to bear and he couldn't stop crying.

Eleven was back on the radio directing them to another location. They came upon another clearing, this one significantly smaller. There were two monsters in this one. They were blinded by the light of the truck and shrunk back. Riley fired put two shots through each of their heads, and this time, they fell back. Hopper got out of the truck and picked up the kid, sitting in the middle of the clearing, in a trance-like state.

"It's another kid. Damn! How many kids are these bastards torturing!"

He placed the kid in the backseat, where Joyce held him/her; they couldn't really tell. The kid was staring straight ahead, as though nothing was wrong and Joyce wondered what could possibly have been done to these children to make them like this. _What if…what if Will is…_

They drove for a long time, while Eleven pleaded with them to go faster.

"Can't hold on for much longer." She whimpered. Jonathan's heart thumped in his chest and he struggled to draw breath. Nancy sat near him and she took his gloved hand in hers. They held on to each other as though their lives depended on it.

At last, the truck burst into a swamp-like area, where a giant, bear-like monster was lunging at another kid.

"Will," Joyce breathed. "That's Will."

They pulled out their guns but hesitated. They were at a difficult angle.

"Don't f****** hit him," Jonathan called out, hoisting his gun, terrified. They jumped out of the truck and circled around, looking for a good shot.

Riley pulled Nancy with him. She was the best shooter, after him. "Alright, you aim for his chest and I'll take the head." They waited a moment and then each fired a single shot. The bullets found their targets and the monster flailed back, allowing the rest of them to send a volley of bullets into its torso. It reared a few more times and they kept firing. Finally, after taking what must've been at least twenty shots to the chest, it collapsed, in a dead heap.

Joyce and Jonathan ran over to Will who was curled up on the marshy ground, shaking.

"Will?" Jonathan asked tentatively putting a hand on his back. He looked up and stared at them blankly.

"Will, baby, talk to me!" Joyce cried, seeing her son's expression.

Will continued looking at them and then his eyes widened. "Mom? Jonathan?"

"Yeah, honey, it's us." She answered, tears streaming down her face. " You're gonna be okay, Will. We're getting you out of here." Joyce pulled him up. He was covered in swamp slime and his legs wobbled beneath him.

Will put his arms around his mom's waist and clung to her. His eyes remained quite dry; instead, he stared straight ahead, his breathing shallow. Joyce led him to the truck as Jonathan watched, biting his lip to keep from crying.

"Okay, everyone back in." Hopper said, averting his gaze.

They took off, the truck jolting violently on every bump in their path. Eleven was again pleading with them to hurry and giving such detailed directions, it felt as though she was in the car with them. Nancy's hands were clasped in front of her face and she was praying audibly, not something she did often.

They flew over a particularly large rut and the truck bounced about a foot. It wasn't long before they were all holding on for dear life.

"Oh, God! Riley, stop it!" Hopper moaned. Stop he did, just a couple of minutes later. They all froze at the sight before their eyes. A very human-looking monster was draped over Mike, who was lying still on the ground. The most unearthly-sounding howls were coming out of the beast's mouth, paralyzing them temporarily.

Nancy was the first to spring into action. She jumped out of the truck and stalked over to the monster, her eyes bloodshot. She faced the barrel of her rifle even with the creature's head and emptied her entire magazine into it, while cursing fluently.

"Son of a bitch!" she cried when she finished. It wasn't even dead, and she was out of ammo. It turned on her and stepped forward, so that it was just a foot away. Nancy could feel her head going black, her senses overcome by the powerful stench the monster gave off. It reached out a hand and that's when the others stepped in. Riley pulled out a knife he'd kept on him and slashed into the creatures back, ferociously. Everyone else released a round into it's chest. After twenty more seconds of this assault, it finally gave and fell back with a hideous moan.

Nancy slowly came back to herself and proceeded to vomit violently. She rushed over to Mike and leaned down over him.

"Mike! Mike please talk to me! Mike!" She was crying, tears falling from her eyes onto his face. "Please, please, please, Mike!"

He didn't move, his eyes remained fixed in their position, staring blankly into the distance. Ted ran over and stopped dead when he saw the condition Mike was in. Hopper bent over and had the presence of mind to check for a pulse and breathing.

"Nancy." He said putting his hands on her shoulder. "He's alive. You hear me? Now we gotta get out of here." She nodded through her tears and stood up. Ted lifted Mike and carried him into the truck.

"Eleven." Hopper called out to her. The radio crackled. "We need you to lead us back."

"One more." She said.

Hopper groaned but they took off again, in search of the last kid. They found him moments later, being dragged off violently by the Demogorgon itself.

"Let's finish off this motherf****** once and for all." Hopper said, jumping out of the truck. He was followed closely by the rest of them. Seeing the Demogorgon infuriated everyone and they desperately wanted to kill it. They were no longer afraid of it, just angry.

They gave it everything they had, stabbing, shooting and punching. When it finally fell, they stood there for a few minutes, looking down at it's dead body.

"Why do I get the feeling that it's not dead?" Hopper muttered to himself as he picked up the last kid who was out cold. He yawned and looked around warily. "Let's get out of here, guys!"

They packed into the truck one last time and raced off back to the compound in silence. Everyone got out of the truck and they ran back through the gap. No one knew what it was, but they felt like they were being watched and hunted in the Upside Down and wanted to get out as fast as possible. As they entered the cavern, they were greeted by the others.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Hopper asked angrily. _They could've gotten hurt, they could've ran into…_

"MIKE!" It was Karen. She'd gotten her first look at Mike, in Ted's arms. Karen ran over and cradled his head in her hands. "What's wrong with him?!" She cried to Hopper.

"We don't know, Karen. We don't know. He's alive, though. We need to get out of here and get everyone medical help." He said, looking at the gap.

Eleven walked up to him. "Go." She said gesturing at everyone.

"What?" Hopper asked her, puzzled.

She pointed to the gate. "Need to destroy it."

Hopper argued with her but she would hear none of it. Finally, Hopper proposed a deal to her; he would stay and everyone else would leave. She agreed.

They left the room, throwing nervous glances at her as they left; the last thing they wanted was for Eleven to get hurt.

When they were alone. Hopper turned to her.

"Eleven, I…" He felt a lump in his throat. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I know that's not enough and I know that with what you've been through there's nothing I could…I did it because of Will. I didn't know you and I chose Will over you. There's no excuse. There's just no excuse." Hopper was crying openly now, looking at the girl he'd betrayed and subjected to a year of torture and suffering. "I know you won't forgive me, and that's how it should be, but I just want you to know how much I regret it. Now, I need you to answer me truthfully, is this gonna kill you?"

Eleven looked at him and shook her head. "No. I did it before."

"At the Lab?"

She nodded.

He believed her. _Unlike me, she's trustworthy_. "Okay, then, let's get on with it."

Eleven turned to face the gate and took a deep breath. Then she closed her eyes, her face scrunched up. She started moaning and whimpering and Hopper placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Suddenly a rumbling filled the room as it began to shake. Eleven screamed, her eyes shut tightly. She put a hand up and started pushing it forward, encountering unseen resistance, as though pushing something. Her hand shook as she did so, and soon it was fully extended. Hopper watched in fascination as the mass started writhing, frothing, bubbling almost. Soon, a screeching sound was added to the mix and everything in the room started to levitate and shake. A strong wind started, seemingly out of nowhere, and whipped everything around. Eleven went quiet, opened her eyes and closed her hand to form a fist. With an ear-splitting crack, the seam began collapse on itself. Hopper would try to describe it later, but he would find it impossible.

Eleven whole body started shaking and she fell into Hopper, out cold, blood pouring out of her nose. Hopper grabbed her and looked around the room one last time. The walls were starting to crack and he could tell that the whole room was on the verge of collapsing.

Hopper ran. He burst into the room where everyone was milling around, looking scared.

"Run," he called, slowing for a moment. They gathered up all the kids and followed his order. Racing across the room, through the blast doors, and into the elevator, they could feel the whole building rumbling beneath them. It felt like an age, but the doors finally opened on the first floor and they hurried out and ran for the entrance of the building, Hopper in the lead and Riley bringing up the rear, carrying two kids.

When they cleared the building, they didn't stop to catch their breath. Hopper did a quick count to make sure that everyone was with them and then they were off again, running down the road, away from the compound and the horrors it held. Finally when they passed the spot where the roadblock once was, they paused to look back. It was getting light and what they saw shocked them. The whole building was coming down, crumbling in on itself.

They didn't watch for long.

"We need medical attention. Let's go!" They ran the mile to where they had stashed the cars. Everyone piled into a vehicle randomly and they raced off, desperate to get away from the nightmarish events of the last few hours.

 

To Be Continued...


	17. Chapter 17

They drove for five minutes, aimlessly, before Hopper, in the lead car, pulled over.

"What's going on?"

"Where are we heading?"

"Why have we stopped?"

Hopper leaned back in his seat and picked up the buzzing radio. "Please, guys. I need a moment to think."

The radio went quiet and he closed his eyes. What now? What now? _We need a hospital, but there are gonna be too many questions. Shit!_

"Okay guys, we have a problem," he announced. "We need a hospital, but we'll probably have to split up so that there aren't too many uncomfortable questions."

Joyce spoke up. "How about I call Dr. Bradley? He told us we can call him whenever. Maybe he can help?"

"Yeah, yeah that's a good idea. I trust him."

They pulled over, at the next phone booth they passed, and Joyce got out. Everyone else sat in the cars, watching her. They were all in a daze from the past few hours.

Hopper turned to Riley in the seat near him. "You know, this is really great, the whole building collapsing. It'll be so easy to pass off as an accident."

Riley nodded. "Yeah. What the hell did that girl do?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure she saved our asses back there."

Joyce came over and Hopper opened the door.

"Well, it took five tries but he finally answered. I think I woke him up. He said he'll be at the hospital in half an hour and that he'll take care of things."

"Did you tell him what shape we-"

"He knows."

"Okay, thanks, Joyce." She got back into her car and Hopper turned them all around.

"We're going to the Evansville." He announced over the radio.

They arrived, fifty minutes later, at the hospital's parking garage.

"Guys, we're like, covered in blood," Nancy said to them. They all removed their vest, helmets, and weapons, besides for Riley.

"Okay, we don't look like militants anymore, at least," Hopper said, observing them. Joyce went into the hospital and asked for Dr. Bradley. The two appeared ten minutes later.

"Okay, what are we looking at?" he said walking over to them. He shook Hopper's hand firmly.

"Uh…a couple of bullet wounds, and then these kids. We don't know what's wrong with them."

Bradley looked over at the kids. "What the hell?" He looked into the eyes of one of the kids and breathed deeply. "What happened to them?"

Hopper sighed. "It's complicated and not strictly legal. Let's just say, we're not the bad guys."

Bradley nodded. "Okay, uh, follow me." He took them through a back entrance and brought them into a large room.

"I'm gonna go get my colleague for the bullet wounds, and then I'll have a look at the kids myself."

They nodded and looked at each other. They hadn't had a moment to breathe since escaping the building. Eleven was out cold in Hopper's arms. Will was leaning against Joyce, his eyes darting around rapidly. Lucas sat between his mom and dad, quietly, looking at the other kids, tear streaks still very visible on his face. Karen held Mike close to her, whispering to him. He was staring blankly into the distance and seemed frozen in place. The other four kids were in much the same condition as Mike.

Dr. Bradley returned a few minutes later, with a female doctor.

"Okay, guys, this is Dr. Graham." She examined Laura first who was fine aside for a painful wound. The doctor wrapped it up tightly and prescribed some painkillers.

"You should stay off your feet for a few days, too, if that's possible."

Next, she examined Jonathan's shoulder.

"We need an x-ray, to see if any damage was done. It's a good thing you got the bullet out, otherwise, it can really wreak havoc." They left the room and returned twenty minutes later.

"All good," Jonathan said quietly, heading over to sit near Will.

Next to be examined was Greg. He was quickly taken into surgery to remove the bullet. It was a fast procedure, especially since Greg refused anesthesia. He took the bullet as a souvenir and came back to the others, grinning like an idiot, his hand in a sling.

"Anyone else?" the doctor asked, looking around at the motley crew.

"Yeah, Nancy. You need to be examined." Hopper said, looking at her.

"Me?! Why?" Nancy protested.

"Yeah…you only took a shot straight to the chest a couple of hours ago," Hopper said sarcastically. "Go." It wasn't a request but an order.

Nancy followed the doctor out of the room. She had some pretty ugly bruises on her chest but was otherwise okay.

"Did you really take a bullet to the chest?" the doctor asked. "You're in remarkable shape for a teenage girl, but to walk away from that with just some bruising…you're pretty lucky."

Nancy nodded and returned to the others. "I'm fine. Just a bruise."

"Okay, is that it?" Dr. Bradley asked. Hopper nodded. "Alright, Dr. Graham, that'll be all."

The other doctor left and Dr. Bradley closed the door. "Okay, now I need some background information. What happened to these kids." He said, walking over to Mike. "I mean, I remember this one. Mike, right? He was healthy and normal just a couple of months ago. And Will," he continued, gesturing. "He was doing alright, but now he looks sick; like he's really regressed."

Hopper cleared his throat. "Honestly, I can't tell you much. We don't really know what was done to them. Let's just say, they were all subjected to some torture and starved. You'll probably be hearing about this on the news over the coming months. When you do, you'll know it's us."

Dr. Bradley seemed to accept his explanation. "Okay, I need you all to leave. I'm gonna be examining him." They all left the room, besides for Ted, Karen, and Nancy.

* * *

 

They stood outside the room, waiting anxiously. Suddenly, Eleven stirred in Hopper's arms. She opened her eyes and looked around wildly. The hospital looked a lot like the compound and lab, but then she caught sight of the people around her and everything came flooding back.

"Is the gate closed?" she whispered, looking up at Hopper.

"Yeah, you did it. You're gonna be okay, honey. They're gone, all of them."

Lucas ran over and hugged Eleven. They had become really close in the cell over the last few weeks.

"It's over El. It's over. You'll be okay. You won't need to hold off monsters anymore or any shit like that. You'll come to live with one of us."

She cried on his shoulder a little bit but then looked around desperately. "Mike?" Her tone was pleading and everyone looked at each other grimly.

"He's, uh, he's in there," Hopper said pointing. "He's alive but-"

He was cut off as Eleven ran over to the door and went in. Hopper grabbed at her half-heartedly but she was already gone.

Once inside, Eleven ran over to Mike who was stripped to the waist. Karen and Nancy were a little surprised to see her but made no move to stop her. Dr. Bradley followed their lead and moved aside. She grabbed his hand and spoke to him. "Mike! Mike, wake up, please!" When he didn't answer, she narrowed her eyes.

"What is she doing?!" Karen said, breathlessly.

"It's okay, mom. She would never hurt him." Nancy said, her eyes never leaving the pair.

Mike was still stuck in his own head. He'd been there for nearly a month now and was pretty comfortable at this point. It was a lot better than facing reality. Over the last few hours, a number of other familiar faces had been swimming before his eyes, but he'd made no effort trying to identify them. It was too difficult and required too much energy that he didn't have.

There was a voice in his head….what was that? Was that the horrible torture device again? No, no, this was different, this one felt okay. He focused in on it.

"Mike! Mike, can you hear me?" The voice was achingly familiar and this time Mike wasn't going to give up until he remembered. It reminded him of a yellow t-shirt and Nancy's pink dress. Of eggos and of…what was that? Was that him, there, kissing a girl? Suddenly it came flooding back to him. That was Eleven! Of course it was, how could he forget?

 _Yes, I can hear you_ , El.

Nancy and the others could see Eleven perk up. She leaned forward, eagerly and spoke again.

"Are you okay, Mike, can you see me?"

Mike struggled with this one. _Could I see her? I can definitely hear her, but see her?_ He strained his mind and could just barely make out her hazy image, swimming before him.

 _I can see you now, El, but just barely. Is this real or is this just in my head_?

"It's real, Mike. It's real. Now I need you to focus on that. Focus on me and don't let go."

He did. It wasn't easy, but El made it a little easier. As he continued to stare at her, he became aware of a number of things. His whole body ached, his head swam, and he struggled to hold on to her image. And he was really, really, really hungry, but there was Eleven looking down at him.

"Eleven," he whispered, this time aloud. "Where are we?"

"We're safe Mike. We're out of that place." She pulled him up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around him. He did the same. She was crying, but they were tears of joy and he made no move to stop them.

Karen, Ted, and Nancy looked on, tears in their eyes, but stood back to give the two a little space. Finally, they could hold back no more. Karen ran forward and held Mike's face in her hands. Eleven backed off, smiling, and Nancy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Eleven. That's another person who owes you their life."

Eleven looked up at her and smiled. "No more." She said. Nancy gave her a quick hug and then turned to Mike.

Mike was looking at his Mom, recognition dawning on his face. "Mom," he whimpered, falling into her arms. Suddenly, all the torture, all the pain, and starvation became too much and he broke down, relief overwhelming him.

"You're safe, Mikey," she said, reverting back to her pet name for him. This would normally cause an angry outburst, but now, Mike just cried a little harder.

Nancy sat down near him and he turned to face her.

"Nancy," he whispered looking into her eyes.

"You're okay, Mike. Oh, God, we were worried about you." She threw her arms around him and cried. She'd been holding everything in, too, and now it came bursting out. "I love you, Mike."

He squirmed a bit, but this only served to make her more emotional. _He's back to himself. Mike is back._

* * *

 

Eleven came out of the room, looking pleased with herself and glancing mysteriously at them.

"What's up, El?" Lucas asked her.

"Mike is up." She said, smiling at her own pun.

"Are you serious?" Hopper asked, not daring to believe it.

She nodded at him, and he noticed the faint trickle of blood at her nose.

"You little…I love you, Eleven." Hopper clapped his mouth shut at what he had just let slip.

Eleven froze for a second and then threw her arms around his waist. "Thank you." She said. "For saving us."

Hopper felt a lump in his throat. _She's thanking me? After everything…she's thanking me?!_ It was too much for him. He disentangled himself from her and hurried away from the group. Eleven turned back to them, on the verge of tears.

"What…what did I do?"

Joyce put an arm around her. "Nothing, he's just happy, Eleven. He doesn't want everyone seeing him cry."

"Oh." She accepted her explanation and looked around at everyone, feeling better than she'd felt in a long time.

* * *

 

Dr. Bradley walked out and looked at the group. "Okay, I didn't actually do anything back there. It was all her," he said pointing at Eleven. "But, Mike is okay, now. Well, not quite okay, but you know, awake and with us."

He looked over at Joyce. "Should I take a look at Will?"

She nodded gratefully. "Please."

They went into another room, where Dr. Bradley asked Will some questions. He answered in a monotone, not quite looking at him.

"How long has this been going on, whatever it is?"

"Uh, a month," Joyce answered.

"Alright, from what I could see, there's nothing wrong with him physically, aside from the fact that he's really weak. The problem is in his head. Trauma, shock, whatever it is, he's pretty badly shaken. Has he cried, or is he…"

"No, he hasn't," Joyce said. "And that's what's worrying me. He was relieved to see us, he hasn't left my side, but it's like he's numb."

"Yeah. Listen, they've all been pretty badly traumatized, that's obvious. What you need to do is be there for him. He'll talk, eventually, but you need to be patient. Just sit with him, and be with him, as much as you can. He'll get better. And when he's ready to talk, then you can start looking into further help."

Joyce nodded and Dr. Bradley left the room.

He examined Lucas next.

"He's been through the same as the others?" Dr. Bradley asked Lucas's parents.

"Yeah, I mean, we think so."

"Then he's one tough kid. He's doing a lot better than any of the others. It'll probably catch up to him, eventually."

He finished up with Lucas and then came back into the hallway. "Okay. Now for these four. I don't know what I can do for them, they're in pretty much the same condition as Mike."

Eleven stepped forward. "I can help." She said softly.

Hopper had returned. "Are you sure it's not too much?" he asked her, concerned.

"No."

Dr. Bradley picked up one of the kids and Eleven made to follow, but she kept glancing back.

"Come." She finally said to Hopper. She was distinctly uncomfortable with anyone who resembled a doctor, even if he appeared to be a good guy.

He followed her into the room. One by one, she brought all four kids back. It took nearly half an hour, but there they were, looking around, petrified and shivering. When Eleven was done, she sat down on a chair, tapping her foot nervously and looking at the others.

Hopper didn't really know what to do with all the kids. He couldn't call any social services, that was for sure. He had no idea if their parents were alive. _It'll have to be us, for now_.

* * *

 

They all assembled in Mike's room. Lucas sat next to Mike. He'd given him a bone-crushing hug when he'd walked in and they'd struggled to remain composed. The mood was somber; everyone was starting to feel what they'd done. The blood, the screams, the bodies, the monsters…It was getting a little overwhelming.

"Okay, folks." Bradley took a deep breath. "I don't know what happened to you guys and these kids, and I don't want to know. They need time, they need rest. They need to be fed, and they need to take it slow. There's nothing seriously wrong with anyone, physically, although, these kids are pretty scarred, mentally. Just take it easy for a while. I'll give them all something to sleep peacefully, God knows they'll need it. Look after them and call me if you need anything, alright?"

Everyone nodded and thanked him. He walked out of the room with Hopper.

"Listen, I trust you've got this under control?" Dr. Bradley asked him. "Because I can get locked up for this."

Hopper nodded. "Don't worry about it. We'll take good care of them." He shook Bradley's hand. "Thank you. We'll never forget this."

Bradley nodded and walked away. "Just use the back entrance, okay?" he called over his shoulder.

Hopper walked back into the room. "Okay, guys, let's go, we've got a long drive ahead."

The four kids looked around wide-eyed. Riley walked over and picked one up. "You'll be okay, honey, alright? I promise." It was heartbreaking to see them, so beaten down and scared. With enough encouragement, though, they eventually all followed.

 

To Be Continued...


	18. Chapter 18

The drivers, in their respective cars, struggled to stay awake, on the way back to the ranch. They had now been up for well over 24 hours straight, and it had been an arduous 24 hours at that. When they, finally made the turn-off, onto the familiar dirt road, they all felt a strong sense of well-being. They'd gotten the kids, they were all alive, and they were safe.

As the ranch came into view, the kids started to stir.

"What is this place?" Lucas asked, bleary-eyed. He'd fallen asleep in his Dad's lap.

"Home, for now. This is where we've been living the last month." Bill answered him. "You'll like it."

They parked the cars haphazardly and got out, stretching. The air was chilly, and the sun shone brightly on the fields that stretched out behind the house. They got all their guns and gear and stashed them in the barn. When they got back to the cars, they found the kids looking around hesitantly.

Everyone headed inside. The first thing they saw was Dustin and Holly fast asleep on a couch. Lucas, Mike, and Will looked at each other, suddenly shy, so it was Nancy who stepped forward and shook him awake. Dustin stirred, his mop of hair getting in his eyes.

"Wuzzgoinon?" he muttered. His eyes fluttered until he got them to stay open. He found nearly twenty people staring at him, but his eyes keyed in on three in particular.

"Holy...SHIT!" Dustin jumped off the couch, ran over to them, and flung his arms around all three, crushing their heads. They didn't mind, though, they were just so happy to be back together. The four held onto each other for a long time, crying, laughing, and shouting (mostly Dustin). They finally pulled back, but then Dustin spotted Eleven.

"Eleven! Eleven, is that really you? We thought you were…" he grabbed her and they embraced each other again, this time five instead of four. When they had finally calmed down, Hopper spoke.

"Okay, we need to set up someplace for you all to sleep." They hunted around and found some old mattresses they'd tossed aside when cleaning the house. After dragging them all into the living room, they added a bunch of blankets to the mix. "Ok, this and the couches should be alright for you pipsqueaks."

"You guys, like, need showers and stuff." Dustin pronounced loudly. They looked at each other and for the first time, realized just how filthy they all were. Blood, sweat, slime, and dirt covered their arms, legs, and everything else.

"Jesus! Kid's right." Riley muttered under his breath. "There are just three bathrooms, though."

They decided the kids should go first. Will, Mike, and Lucas took the first shift, as everyone else caught a bite to eat. The kids had nothing to wear but the thin hospital gowns so it was up to Dustin to provide clothes for all of them. He went over to a couple of backpacks he'd been living out of and started pulling out a large assortment of t-shirts and pants he'd collected over the last month.

"So…we got a couple of Spider-man tees…uh…here's some sweatpants…what's this…a Led…Led Zepellin t-shirt…huh, when did I get that?...soccer shorts…" On and on he droned, while the others watched in amusement. His backpack seemed to have all his possessions stuffed in them.

Finally, when his packs were empty, he gathered the stuff up and dumped them on the kitchen table.

"Have at her guys. Though, you really need to go shopping."

The boys came out of the shower and collapsed immediately on the mattresses. At one point, Frodo woke up from a snooze and started jumping all over Will, licking him and barking madly. The next round of kids was a lot more difficult. They appeared to have never seen a bath or were petrified of it. Eleven refused to go into the bathroom alone, so Nancy went with her, showing her how to draw a bath, and just being there. She let Eleven pick out one of her t-shirts to wear; She chose a light red one with the word 'fearless' scrawled across the front; it was a little big, but Eleven loved it anyway. The other kids had to be helped as well. They were a lot shyer and had to be coaxed into the bath. Once in, though, they seemed to be in paradise, as though they'd never experienced anything as pleasant in their whole life.

 _They probably haven't in a while_. Hopper thought grimly, helping one of the boys with a t-shirt.

After all the kids were showered and had fallen asleep, strewn out across the room, the adults took their turn.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Jonathan sat on the couch that served as his bed, and looked around the room at the kids; and one in particular. The room was dim as Hopper had dug up some thick drapes and hung them over the windows. Something creaked down the hallway and Nancy tiptoed into the room and sat down beside him.

"Hey," she whispered, looking at him. She wore a pair of light green pajamas and her arm was soft against his, despite all the physical labor of the last month.

"Hi, how are you doing?" he asked looking down at her.

"Ok, I guess. Pretty tired, but somehow, I don't want to fall asleep yet."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Still trying to process that place?"

"Uh, huh." She loved how he got her, how they both knew what the other was thinking, how they could practically finish each others' sentences.

"Do you think they're okay?" Jonathan asked.

Nancy looked over at Mike, noticing how his hand held Eleven's. "No, but with time, they will be."

"Yeah. What about us, though? I swear, Nancy, when you went down back there; I stopped breathing for a second. It was-" he said, his voice cracking.

She grabbed his hand. "Hey. That's over. I'm okay, Jonathan, I really am."

He gave a shaky smile and breathed deeply. "You know, I just realized that Thanksgiving passed like three weeks ago. No one even remembered. And Christmas is in ten days."

Nancy chuckled. "I guess that'll be our Thanksgiving, huh?"

"Yeah," Jonathan said, the smile sliding off his face as he became serious. He looked over at Will. "You know, it's just…I'm so happy that they have each other." His tone was tinged with sadness which Nancy immediately picked up on.

"We've got each other too." She said, squeezing his hand. "That's enough, isn't it?"

He looked over at her. She was smiling, her wide blue eyes inches from his dark ones.

"I've missed you," she whispered. "It's weird, we've been living in the same house but we've been so busy, I can't remember the last time we were alone."

"Yeah, I've missed you too," Jonathan murmured. They were moving closer to each other, he could clearly see the gray flecks in her bright irises, and she could see the small cluster of freckles on the bridge of his nose. Their lips met a moment later and they held the kiss for a while. Her hands slipped around the back of his head, burying themselves in his damp hair, while his slid around her waist, pressing in gently.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat nearby. The two pulled apart as though zapped by an electric shock. Nancy looked around wildly, finally finding the source.

"Dammit, Riley! What are you doing here?" He was sitting shrouded in a corner, holding a mean looking rifle Jonathan recognized as an AK.

"One of the kids asked me to stand watch. I couldn't say no, could I?" He had a smug smirk on as his eyes flitted between the two. Their hands were still around each other.

"Could you have at least told us beforehand? Like before we…"

"Before you started making out?" Riley finished. "I was going to, but you were being so sweet, I didn't want to stop you two."

Jonathan looked at Nancy and rolled his eyes. Normally he would be mortified if someone caught him kissing, but there was something about Riley that put you at ease. Besides, the last twenty-four hours had really put things in perspective; they'd all fought side by side and risked their lives together. "Can't get a moment to ourselves here and it'll be a lot worse once the boys are back up and running." He said, laughing.

Nancy shook her head. "I can't believe you." She muttered at Riley. _I'm going to have to get him back sometime_.

"Carry on," Riley chuckled, gesturing at them.

"Not on your life," Nancy said. She gave Jonathan a peck on the cheek. "Some other time."

He smiled at her. "Yeah. Good night, or whatever it is. Come and get me if you have any trouble."

She smiled back at him and yawned. "I will," she said, heading out of the room, but not before shooting a glare at Riley, who was still smirking in the corner.

When she was gone, Jonathan lay down and tried to catch some sleep.

"Good girl, Nancy. Take care of her, alright?" It was Riley again.

He leaned up and craned his neck to look at him. "Yeah she is and I will, though I think she's better at that than I am."

Riley chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, she's tough. But don't you dare break her heart or you'll have to answer to me. You haven't seen me angry yet." He regarded Nancy as somewhat of a younger sister. He'd never had one but he imagined that this is what it felt like.

Jonathan smiled. "I won't," he said, lying back down.

* * *

 

Hopper woke up and got dressed. It was six o'clock in the evening and he'd been sleeping for about five hours now. _I'm starving._ He tiptoed through the silent house. No one else was up but him. Hopper paused in the den and looked around at the sleeping kids. They were so peaceful looking that he was tempted to take a picture. _What the hell? When did I become so sentimental_?

He continued to his car. Settling down in the driver's seat, he leaned back against the headrest, his mind swirling with images of the compound. _We did it. We actually did it_. Hopper hadn't had time earlier to actually wrap his head around the feat. Now that he did, he couldn't stop smiling. He thought back to the moment when he'd pulled the trigger on Brenner. The satisfaction, though, was quickly replaced by overwhelming determination to protect each and every person in the ranch. They deserved some peace and quiet after their harrowing month.

He sped off, cigarette in mouth, and radio blaring. Hopper was gone for nearly two hours when he returned, most of the adults were still sleeping, but all the kids were up.

 

The boys and Eleven were exploring the property, Dustin leading the way with a flashlight, while the other four kids hung back at the house, too scared to venture out in the dark. Nancy and Jonathan were trying to talk to them. There were eleven-year-old twins, Annabel and Homer, who were the most talkative if you could call it that. There was another girl, Myra, eight/nine by the look of her, who had beautiful hazel eyes, that were perpetually frightened. Then there was the little boy, Eli, who had sat down on Jonathan's lap and wouldn't leave it. He didn't say anything other than his name and sucked his thumb, his eyes darting around.

"Aww…he likes you," Nancy said, happily.

Jonathan smiled. He liked little kids, they were so open and innocent.

"Look at this." He said to her quietly, pointing at the bruises visible on Eli's arms. "It makes me so  damn angry."

"Yeah, me too. They've all got them, it's sickening."

The door opened and Hopper walked in, carrying four boxes of pizza, followed by the boys and Eleven, who were also carrying a bunch of bags.

"Alright, this is more like it!" Dustin said. He got out a plate and stacked it up with two slices of pizza, a large burger, onion rings, and chicken wings.

Slowly but surely, everyone straggled out of bed and sat down to eat.

"Hey, hey!" Hopper called out to the boys who were stuffing their faces. "Take it slowly. You guys haven't eaten a normal meal in a month, you need time to adjust."

Eleven took out a burger and dropped it, her mouth widening in horror. She was remembering the last time she'd eaten one of those. The first kind person she'd ever met had died shortly after. Tears streamed down her face and she put her head down on the nearest person, who happened to be Dustin. No one knew what caused the outburst; they just tried to comfort her as best they could. They knew this was something they had to get used to, living with nine kids who had spent time being tortured, starved, and experimented upon.

* * *

 

They woke up the next day to a snowstorm. Eleven was sitting on the front porch staring out at the property blanketed in snow, she'd never seen it in her life. The kids all needed clothes desperately so Hopper, Nancy, Jonathan, and all the moms decided to take them out shopping. The first three carried a concealed gun on them; they weren't taking any chances. They drove out to a large mall and the first thing they did was buy shoes, some of the kids didn't even have that. That done, the group strolled around, dropping into store after store, and trying to ignore all the stares they were getting. They were a strange sight, after all.

At one point, the twins spotted some Star Wars merchandise and were all over it.

 _So they haven't spent years there,_ Hopper thought, as he paid for a pair of Yoda pajamas.

Eleven just looked around in a daze. There were so many stuff. _She_ was getting so many stuff. It was the first time she'd ever owned anything. She couldn't stop looking into the bags in her hands, eager to try what she'd bought.

The kids got everything from shirts, pants, and skirts, to boots, coats, and gloves. Mike, Lucas, Will, and obviously Dustin were bored stiff but tried to control themselves, not wanting to hurt the other kids. Finally, they moved on to more fun things, like games and food.

They stocked a cart up with every imaginable snack, and a nice, healthy stack of Eggos to go with it. They bought a nice collection of board games, card games, and an air hockey set, as well as shovels, and sleds, for the snow. Finally, when their cars were pretty much full, they stopped for lunch at a Chick-fil-A, before heading back to the ranch.

 

To Be Continued...


	19. Chapter 19

Will was being hunted. The monsters had picked up on his scent. He couldn't see where he was, nor could he move. He could only feel the fear and dread that the monsters induced. It was overpowering. _It's a dream. It's a dream. It's a dream_. He repeated this mantra, more and more furiously as the monsters appeared in front of him. _Just a dream! Just a dream! It's a dream…_

Will sat up in bed as Homer's (one of the twins) elbow jabbed into his side. _That's why I woke up,_ Will thought, grateful that it had happened.

He realized that his t-shirt was wet and he pulled it away from his chest where it was sticking to him. He was also short of breath, and not in a normal way. Will's head spun as he disentangled himself from his blanket and stood up. He nearly blanked out, just walking the ten feet over to the couch where Jonathan slept.

"Jonathan…" he wheezed, tugging at his older brother's top. "Please…please wake up."

Jonathan jerked awake and immediately became aware of Will's presence. "What's up, Will," he said, groggily.

"Can't…can't breathe." Will managed. Jonathan jumped up, suddenly wide awake. Will was not okay.

"Hang on a second, Will." He hurried to the kitchen and got a cup of water before returning to the den. "Come on." He said, putting a hand on Will's back and leading him outside, into the cold winter air.

Will sat down on the bench, Jonathan beside him.

"Okay Will, we've been through this before. You'll be fine. Breathe deeply, alright? Deep breath in, deep breath out." Will did it for a few minutes and began to feel a little better. The panic was receding, slowly but surely.

"Here, have a drink." Jonathan offered him the water and he downed it in one shot. "You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, yeah much better," Will answered, putting his head down on Jonathan's shoulder. Now that his breathing was under control, the frightening nightmare sneaked back into his head and he felt tears spill over.

"Am I ever gonna be back to normal?"

"You'll get better, Will. Alright? I don't know if you'll be back to normal, none of us will. But, Jesus, you just got out of that nightmare a couple of days ago! This will get better."

Will nodded and closed his eyes. "What did you guys do that night? I barely have any memory of it."

"Uh…I honestly…I can't even tell you what we did. It was really a miracle we all survived. We killed, probably hundreds of people. We…we got hit a few times…we were racing around the Upside Down in this truck, hunting the monsters and looking for you guys. It was kind of crazy. Then the whole building came down after Eleven did whatever she did. I'll never forget it, any of it."

Will put his arms around Jonathan. "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"For coming after me. For risking your life! Come on, Jonathan, don't act like this wasn't a big deal." It drove Will crazy how he always thought so little of himself.

Jonathan smiled. "Yeah, it was. We were all put through the ringer by Riley, too. But it was worth it, obviously. We're all kind of like personal bodyguards now."

Will smiled. "Yeah, I noticed, you got these huge muscles. I bet Nancy likes them."

"Hey!" Jonathan said.

"What? It's not a secret anymore, is it?" Will said, punching Jonathan on the shoulder, playfully. The truth is, he was really happy for him. Will had become very aware in recent years how lonely Jonathan was, despite the indifference he tried to feign. It even made him feel guilty sometimes, having such good friends and Jonathan not having any.

Will laid his head back down on Jonathan's shoulder. "I'm just happy it's all over."

"Yeah," Jonathan echoed, putting an arm around Will and trying to ignore the pessimist in him who believed that it would never be over.

* * *

 

Lucas was being hunted. He was tied to a slimy tree in the Upside Down and the Demogorgon was advancing on him. Its stench was making him gag, its clawed hands were making his heart palpitate, and finally, its touch was making him wish he'd never been born.

Lucas woke suddenly, his heart rate, triple its usual level. The nightmare had been all too real. Lucas found himself shaking. "Get a grip," he whispered to himself. But he couldn't get a grip, and soon tears were falling. He got up unsteadily and walked into the kitchen. He tried taking a drink. He tried eating some chips. Heck, he even tried some deep breathing techniques he'd learned back in seventh grade when the grief counselor had come to talk to them at school. But none of it worked, and the pit of fear and the unrest just wouldn't go away.

Frustrated, he headed for his parents' bedroom. He knocked lightly but there was no answer so he tried the door. It opened and he walked in, pausing just over the threshold. Lucas didn't close the door, instead, he walked in and sat down beside his mom, not really knowing what he was aiming for. Laura seemed to sense his presence because she woke up just a couple of minutes later.

"What's wrong, baby?" she said, turning on the lamp beside the bed. Lucas couldn't talk. He gulped, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spill. But he couldn't and they started falling, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed.

Laura held him as he cried, patting his back gently. "It's okay, Lucas," she said soothingly. "It's alright baby."

"I just…I can't get...the nightmares are so..." Lucas said, in between sobs.

"You did so well, Lucas. I heard from Will and Eleven how strong you were. It's okay to cry now, baby. It's okay."

"They really said that?" Lucas asked, his eyes wide.

"Yup, they sure did," Laura said, proudly. "Will said that if it weren't for you, he wouldn't have made it. I'm so proud of you, Lucas. You have no idea. We were going out of our minds, your Dad and me." Laura had to hold back tears herself now. He was her only child, she'd always wanted a large family but she'd had fertility problems and it had been 12 years before Lucas finally came. It had been hell, not knowing whether he was alive or not, whether he was in pain.

"Don't cry, Mom. Please." Lucas said, putting a hand on her face. He was a mamma's boy and not afraid to admit it. "I'm alright."

Mike was being hunted. His legs didn't work, and neither did his voice. His heart was working fine though, pounding out an uneven, wild rhythm in his chest. The shrieks were what bothered him the most. They got in his head and made him think of everything bad in the world; every fear he had, came to the forefront at the sound. And now he was surrounded by four or five of the beasts, all of them screeching and howling.

Mike's eyes opened and he felt relief. He was out of the nightmare, at least. Yes, he felt awful; frightened, sick, and miserable, but at least he didn't have to hear those blood-curdling shrieks. He got up, careful not to bother Eleven who always slept near him in their camp-out style sleeping quarters. Her hair was growing in and Mike paused for a moment, watching her sleep. It was mesmerizing, her steady breathing, the ways her eyes fluttered every so often.

* * *

 

Mike shook his head, trying to clear his mind, as he walked around. His body shook a bit; the dream affecting him pretty badly. He was restless, and the pit in his stomach seemed to deepen, wandering the quiet house. Pretty soon, Mike found himself outside Nancy's room. _Should I go in? What do I even want from her? I should just try and go back to sleep. What am I thinking?_

But his hand seemed to move on its own and he turned the knob, gently opening the door. He walked over to her sleeping form.

"Nancy," he whispered, before resolving to leave, ( _What was I thinking?)_ but Nancy sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Um…I don't really know. I…It was stupid. I had a horrible dream and I was wondering around the house, so I just…I don't know." He finished off clumsily.

Nancy laughed at him. "Mike! It's called wanting to talk, it's not stupid. I thought we were over the awkwardness but I guess not. So, what do you want to talk about?" She asked, scooting over on the bed to give him some space. He sat down and looked at her.

"I don't really know. I…" Mike trailed off, his leg shaking and a lump rising in his throat. _Really, you're gonna cry now, Mike?_

"It's fine to cry, Mike. I don't get why boys are so afraid to do it." Nancy said, reading his thoughts. She put an arm around him and he leaned into her

"You're pretty badass now, Nancy. When did you become so…so cool?" Mike said, smiling through his tears. "You were becoming such an idiot, but now…"

"Gee, thanks Mike!" she said, but she was smiling. "I guess this whole Upside Down bullshit changes you. Puts things in perspective, you know? It's hard to care about small, stupid stuff when your life is in danger. I mean, look at Mom. She wouldn't freak out anymore about so many things that she would've before, right?"

Mike nodded and shivered. "I just can't get that…that place out of my head."

"Yeah, I know how it is. It gets better though."

"How do you know?"

"I was in the Upside Down, Mike," Nancy said. "Yeah, I know it was just a few minutes, but it was the most frightening few minutes of my life. I had awful nightmares after it, for months and months, but they eventually stopped, for the most part. Although, this new round of events is making them come back."

She looked at Mike, who was now nearly as tall as her. "I have no idea how you managed."

"I didn't, I…I shut down, automatically. I…I'm not at all fine, Nancy. I look relatively fine from the outside, but in here it's chaos." Mike finished, pointing to his head. "I'm barely getting by."

"I know," Nancy said simply. "Take it slow. Don't rush it, you'll get better, things will get easier. And, Mike?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm always here to talk."

Mike nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.

"You can sleep in here, if you want." Nancy offered.

"What! That's gross. Why would I sleep here?" Mike objected loudly, pulling away from her. It made Nancy smile. _Still the same old Mike_.

"I just figured you did. Do what you want, though the offer still stands." Nancy said. He did end up sleeping in there, although it was curled up on the floor, engulfed in blankets, instead of near her.

* * *

 

Hopper started talking to the kids the next day, trying to find out where they were from. The twins gave him their hometown after a little prodding, but the other two still wouldn't talk. Hopper decided to go with what he had and drove out to Spencer, where the twins were from. It was about an hour from Hawkins and twenty minutes from the compound, by Hopper's estimate. He pulled into a gas station at the edge of the small town to fill up, but also to poke around.

Hopper put the pump in, and lit a cigarette as he waited. When it was done, the attendant, a beefy, sunburned guy, sporting a Hoosiers cap, walked over to him.

"Twenty-nine fifty." He said roughly.

"Right, just a second," Hopper said, putting on his best southern accent and rummaging through his wallet. "Say, you haven't had any kids disappearing around here, have you? Only, I'm the sheriff in Cartwright, couple towns over from here, and we've had two kids disappear recently. You wouldn't know anything, would you?"

"No, I don't really…well, we did have a couple of kids missing a while back, but they were found. I don't think they're connected or anything."

"They were found, you say?"

"Yeah, found dead, a ways off. Turns out they sneaked out at night, went and got lost hiking, turned up dead a week later."

Hopper's head was spinning. _So this is a trick they pull often, huh. Make the parents think the kids are dead?_ "You don't say?"

"Yeah, pretty bad stuff. I think, hang on, I might still have a poster of them somewhere."

The guy disappeared and Hopper waited eagerly, hoping that it was the twins. The fellow came back a couple of minutes later, a battered paper in his hand. "There we go, that's them." He handed the poster over to Hopper who struggled to contain himself. It was them, no doubt about it.

"Ah, terrible stuff," He said instead, handing over a few bills, while casually pocketing the paper.

"Yeah, hope you find your missing kids, shame to lose em' so young."

"Yeah, take care." Hopper said, shaking the guy's hand firmly.

He drove away from the station, examining the poster. Anabel's hair was long, and she appeared to have been somewhat chubby. Homer looked about the same, though. The twins' last name was Cruz, and there was an address listed on the poster, as well as a phone number. Hopper drove over to the house, a nice, if small, two-story cottage, and parked the car across the street.

He was utterly conflicted. _What the hell do I do? Do I go in and talk to them, casually. Do I tell them now? Do I make up a story? They won't believe a word I say, why would they? I don't think it's even safe for them to bring the kids home yet. They'll probably just throw me out of the house once I start talking about their kids who they think are dead. What the hell do I do?_

Just then, a woman came out of the house. She was small, and very beautiful, with a slight figure. Hopper watched her water some plants outside the house. There was something in the way she moved, something that he knew all too well. She had the air of someone who had lost a loved one and was never going to get over it.

That did it, in Hopper's mind. _They need to know. By God, I would want to know, if it was my kid!_ He grabbed the crumpled poster, got out of the car, and made his way over to the woman.

"Mrs. Cruz," He asked, guessing that she was married.

"Yes," the woman turned around hastily. "How can I help you?"

"We need to talk." Hopper realized that that sounded a little ominous. "Nothing bad." He added.

She looked hesitant. "Who are you?"

"I'm a…well, I'm a police officer. Chief of Hawkins, that's a town a little way west of here." Hopper flashed his badge.

"I've heard of it. It was in the news last year." She had a slight Filipino accent and she looked at him, suspiciously.

"Look, is your husband home?" Hopper asked.

"Yes." The woman paused. "Come in." she said finally. She headed into the house and Hopper followed. "You can sit there." She said, gesturing to the kitchen table.

Hopper did so, and looked around. There were family pictures all over, of the four of them, and he couldn't imagine what it must be like for the couple, going from having a beautiful family to having nothing overnight. The woman returned a few minutes later, with her husband at her back.

"What's this, sir?" he asked, immediately.

Hopper stood up and held out his hand. "Jim Hopper, I'm the chief over in Hawkins."

The man shook his hand. "Jacob Cruz."

The woman held out her hand. "Angela."

Hopper shook both their hands. "Alright Mr…"

"You can call us by our first names." Angela put in.

"Okay, Jacob, Angela, this is gonna take a while, so you should have a seat."

They did so. "So you said, you've heard of Hawkins?"

"Yeah," Jacob said, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "It was about a missing kid who'd supposedly come back from the dead."

Hopper nodded. "I'd like to give you the full story. It's gonna sound ridiculous, but just hear me out."

He could see that they fully believed that their kids were dead, there was not a flicker of hope in their eyes as he started his story. "Will Byers was the kid. He disappeared last year, November 6th…"

Midway through, he was stopped by Jacob. "Is this your idea of a joke?" he burst out. "We've had enough of all the condolences, but what the hell is this? Are you trying to rub this in our face?"

"Sir, please bear with me. I lost a daughter to cancer, I know what this is like." Hopper said, immediately regretting his words. _I'm screwing this up so badly_.

Jacob looked furious but he closed his mouth tightly and Hopper continued. He paused, after the part where they got Will back. "Now, here's where your story comes in." He could see the change in their eyes. They were beginning to suspect, perhaps not that the twins were alive, but that there was something wrong with the story they'd been given. It had never satisfied them, but they'd seen the bodies, there was nothing to debate.

"Now, when did your kids go missing? Sometime early in the year?"

"January 12th." Angela answered immediately.

"Jesus." Hopper breathed. _Eleven months, the kids had been stuck there._

"How do we know that this isn't all a load of bullshit?!" Jacob burst out. His wife was in obvious distress, going over this and if there wasn't a very good reason for it, then he was going to have Hopper's head.

"Just hold on a few more minutes, please, I'm getting to the point soon. Will was hospitalized for eight months, due to some sickness that he picked up…" Hopper continued. "The night he was released, another boy went missing, Mike Wheeler, another Hawkins kid."

He speed through the rest of the story as fast as he could, he could see the two growing sick of his ridiculous tale. Finally, he got to the point. "A couple of night's ago, we stormed the compound, looking for the boys." He looked them both in the eye. They had begun to hope, despite the fantastic nature of the story.

"We found more than we bargained for. We found more kids. We found your kids."

The two froze. "They're dead, right?" Angela asked, her eyes wide. "You put us through this, just to tell us that they're dead."

Hopper shook his head. "No. They're alive. Your kids are alive. Brenner faked their deaths to throw you off his scent. Your kids are alive."

"Where are they then?" Jacob asked, fuming. He didn't trust Hopper as far as he could kick him.

"A couple of hours away from here, if you'll come with me, then…"

Jacob looked at his wife. Her eyes pleaded with him to agree, she was beyond desperate. He nodded. If there was even the slightest chance that this was true, then they had to give it a shot.

"Hold on a minute." He went upstairs and came back with a loaded rifle. "If you try anything funny, then, I swear, I'll shoot you through the head." He told Hopper.

Hopper nodded. He understood. "I'll deserve it."

They got in the car as the sky darkened, and Hopper started driving.

 

**To Be Continued…**


	20. Chapter 20

They'd been driving for over an hour when Jacob spotted the assault rifle, lying between the two front seats.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop the car now! We're getting out." _Who was this sick guy, who had decided to lure them into his car by using his dead kids? What, does he plan on pulling over in the middle of nowhere and finishing us off?_ "Stop the damn car, now!"

Hopper did so and turned around. "What's wrong?"

Jacob had already opened the door. "You're a f****** psychopath. What's your end goal, anyway?" He said, his gun trained on Hopper as Angela got out of the car on the other side.

"I'm not a psychopath, guys. It's all true, your kids are an hour away. I'm not gonna do anything to you. I…" he trailed off as he spotted the gun. "Oh, is this the problem? Take it." He said raising his hands.

Jacob looked at him, unsure of himself.

"Go on, take it. I won't hurt you. That's the last thing I want to do. I carry that around because I'm expecting to be attacked by these same people who took your kids. They've been after me before."

Jacob decided that his voice had a ring of truth to it. Nevertheless, he wasn't taking any chances, so he reached out and grabbed the rifle before Hopper could move.

"Alright, we'll come." He and Angela got back into the car and Hopper continued driving, keeping up a running commentary, trying to relax them a bit.

"I should have brought pictures, honestly. Then you would've seen for yourself. I just didn't think I was gonna tell you right away…"

Finally they arrived at their turnoff. "Okay, we're nearly there. Hold on."

The Cruzes were getting really nervous. Was this all some kind of elaborate plot or were their kids really here, alive and kicking? When the ranch came into view, they could feel their pulses' quickening. This looked like a pleasant, comfortable place, not the endgame of some sick joke.

It was past eight and the light on the front porch was. Mike, Eleven, Nancy, and Riley were sitting on a couple of benches, laughing and talking.

Riley jumped up in greeting when the car pulled up. "Hello, what have you brought here, Jim?" he asked as the Cruzes got out of the car.

"The twins' parents." Hopper said, significantly.

"Oh," Riley said, uncertain what the right thing to say was.

Hopper looked at the two. "I'll go in and tell them. We don't want to shock them too bad. Is that okay?"

Angela nodded and took her husband's hand in hers. "They're here, Jake, they're here. I can feel it."

He put his arm around her. He was beginning to believe it too. The others walked over to them.

"Are you guys Annabel and Homer's parents?" Nancy asked cautiously.

Jacob nodded, his face set. He was trying to prepare himself.

"Oh my God, they'll be so excited to see you! They're the sweetest, especially Annabel."

Hopper walked back out and gestured to them. They looked at each other and started walking up to the house, hearts' pounding furiously. They walked into the house and Hopper directed them to the right, where the living room was. They walked in and saw the two sitting on the couch, looking just as nervous as them.

"Anna…Homer…is that really you?" Angela whispered, her hand over her heart. The kids got up and walked slowly over to their parents.

"Mama…Daddy…" Annabel whimpered, falling into her parents' arms. Jacob grabbed Homer as well, and they held each other, tears falling freely from all of their eyes.

"We thought you were dead." Jacob said, when they'd finally broken apart. "We buried you guys, they planted fake bodies for us to find, and we bought it. We stopped looking, I'm sorry."

"We thought _you_ were dead." Homer said, in response. "They made it sound like you were. So we gave up, until they came." He was pointing at Hopper, who was standing in the hallway, trying to act like he hadn't been watching them.

Jacob walked over and put a hand on Hopper's shoulder. "I'm sorry we doubted you. I…Thank you, I don't know who you are, but we…we're gonna be in your debt, forever…I don't know how to thank you…" he broke down sobbing and Hopper clapped him on the back.

"It's fine. I understand completely. It's…it's the worst when your kid is involved and you're helpless."

Angela walked over to Hopper and hugged him as well. "Thank you, sir. I want to meet all the others who were involved in this. I want to thank them too."

"Yes, and I'd like to hear the full story." Jacob added. "I know you were rushing, back there. I want to hear every detail."

"Alright, I'll tell the others. I cleared the room so you guys can have a little privacy."

Hopper left the room quickly, and ran for the bathroom, where he proceeded to burst into tears. _Get a grip Jim, get a grip_ …

After everyone had eaten their fair share of roast chicken and wild rice, they all packed into the living room to talk. The Cruzes sat on a couch together, Jacob and Angela not wanting to let go of their kids. The boys were all talking over each other, trying to tell the story from the beginning.

"And then the Demogorgon came out-"

"And Eleven was, like, walking towards us, and she was bleeding-"

"And then we sneaked out, and we saw them taking Will's body-"

"Okay, guys, just SHUT UP!" Hopper yelled. "One at a damn time!"

It was a long evening, full of laughter, jokes, and a little crying too. Everyone was happy to see the twins reunited with their parents. The focus now turned to the other two children, Myra and Eli. Myra sat with Dustin, Lucas, and Mike, who were giving Eleven and her a Dungeons and Dragons crash course, while Eli sat between Nancy and Jonathan, whom he had effectively adopted as his parents.

The adults talked among themselves, wondering what to do with the other two.

"The little one won't talk, Nancy told me." Karen said. "He just clings to Jonathan and her."

"Yeah, and neither will Myra. The boys keep trying to get her to open up, but she won't," Reina added.

Hopper spoke up. "I know. I've tried talking to them numerous times; they're unable or unwilling to answer. With Eli, it could be that he's just too young, but Myra is a strange case."

"I think we just need to give them time," Greg said. "They should come around, eventually, no?"

"What about Eleven?" Joyce asked. "You saw what condition her mom was in, it's such a shame."

"Yeah, I was thinking about her." Hopper said, looking over at Eleven. "I'm gonna go out to her aunt one of these days, tell her what's going on. I don't know what we should tell Eleven about her mom, though. Nothing for now, that's for sure."

They all paused to watch the kids for a minute. They seemed so content and peaceful, that it was hard to imagine the torture they'd gone through. They all bore the signs, though, of their ordeal; they were abnormally thin, their heads were shaved, and their bodies scarred and bruised. And if you watched close enough, you could see that the smiles were forced at times. Everyone was trying to keep it together for the sake of the others.

The Cruzes were now willing to do whatever Hopper told them, so when he let them know that it really wasn't safe to take the kids home yet, they happily agreed to stay, despite there not being enough room for another couple in the house.

* * *

 

The next morning, they all went out again. Christmas was drawing closer, so they bought a boatload of holiday paraphernalia, including Christmas lights. Joyce just shook her head at the addition, while everyone laughed at her, somewhat hesitantly. They also took down a tree on the property, trimming it to fit in the house. They had to explain the whole concept of a holiday to Eleven, who just took it to mean a party, which suited her just fine. She was stubborn about what she wanted to learn about.

Jonathan developed all of the pictures that'd been taken on his camera. There were loads of all the kids as well as the shots they'd taken right before the infiltration, and beforehand.

"We all look so nervous!" Riley laughed. "Look at us, we look like we're about to vomit."

The kids found them very cool and everyone wanted one, so he had to develop about fifteen copies.

The kids just ate…and ate…and ate…and ate some more. Eleven still liked Eggos more than anything, despite everyone's best efforts to introduce her to normal food. They converted their former security room into another bedroom so that the Cruzes did not have to camp out on a couch. Hopper began going through hundreds of newspapers and anything else he could get his hands on, searching for any unexplained deaths, missing kids, or strange circumstances, mostly without luck.

* * *

 

A couple of days before Christmas, Hopper grabbed some photos of Eleven and raced off. He arrived outside the Ives house and paused. After a minute or two, he got out and rang the doorbell, half-hoping that no one would answer. But he was not in luck; Becky opened the door a couple of minutes later.

"Hi, I don't know if you-"

"I remember you." Becky said, interrupting him. "What is it?"

"Oh, okay." Hopper was thrown off by her in-your-face response. "I, uh, can we talk?"

"Fine." Becky led him into the house and turned to him. "Yes?"

"Is Terry here?"

"No, I finally put her in a group home back in August." She said it casually, as though it was no big deal.

"Oh," Hopper took a deep breath and decided to dive right into it. "We found the girl."

"What girl?" Becky asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Terry's daughter, we found her."

Becky looked at him like he was crazy. "And you expect me to believe you, just like that?"

Hopper sighed. "I've got pictures of the girl. It's her, whether you believe it or not. Now, I have no idea if you would want to come see her, of if we should even tell her about you guys, but here are the pictures; see for yourself."

He pulled them out and handed them over to Becky. She rifled through them, growing more and more still, until she handed them back to Hopper and took a deep breath full of nicotine.

"It's her, she looks just like…Now what?" Becky was trying to maintain her composure. "It's too late. Terry's too far gone to do anything."

"I know. I just thought you should know. Maybe it was a mistake coming out here, maybe I shouldn't have…"

"No." Becky interrupted him. "I…I would want to know. I, just let me think about this for a bit. Can I, can I have a couple of pictures?"

"Sure," Hopper said, handing the stack back to her. "Just make sure no unsavory characters see them. I'm still trying to figure out where we stand with the law. It's…complicated." He finished off, seeing her reaction.

She took a couple and stared at them, holding back tears. "Well, thanks for coming." She managed to choke out.

Hopper was going to put a hand on her shoulder but decided against it. "Yeah, take care." He left the house in a hurry, eager to get back to the ranch and the normalcy that the place afforded, if you could call it that.

* * *

 

Christmas Eve was a blast. They stayed up late, talking, laughing, eating, and playing games. The kids couldn't wait so they just decided to open the presents at night, besides, Eleven couldn't really understand the point of waiting until morning. The twins had become much more talkative once their parents had shown up, and the other two were opening up a bit, as well. Christmas Day was much of the same, lots of eating, but with some serious drinking by the adults as well.

After that, they were all hit with a serious bout of the post-holiday blues, dreading the return to normal life.


	21. Chapter 21

Three days after Christmas, Hopper sat them all down to talk.

"I spoke to my guy at the CIA," he announced, unceremoniously. Everyone perked up.

"So it's like this. It's not over, but you guys can go home. Everything will go through me, and I have their word that you won't be touched."

Greg and Reina exchanged smiles and Greg pumped his fist. "Yes! Finally!"

Bill and Laura breathed a sigh of relief. "About damn time. I thought we were never gonna go home." Bill said.

Ted, too, let out a rare smile. He really was never comfortable in this group setting and couldn't wait to get out of it.

The others, though, were far less enthusiastic.

"How do we know that they really won't bother us?" Joyce asked.

"I trust this guy. He gave me his word and even offered protection, which I declined but you guys can decide for yourselves. I really don't think we'll have a problem."

* * *

 

A couple of hours later, the Cruzes were ready to leave. They faced the group and could barely contain their tears.

"We can never thank you all, like we should…You brought us back our kids…you made our family whole again. We…" Angela broke down sobbing. She'd given up. She'd started packing their stuff away, started trying to forget what she'd lost, and then, out of the blue, a mysterious stranger shows up and tells her that her kids are alive, that they'd been captured and tortured for eleven months.

She went over to each and every person and thanked them individually. "We will never forget you all, and the week we spent here."

Jacob went over to Hopper one last time. Hopper waved him off. It was almost becoming irritating how much he thanked him. "Listen, man. If you have any trouble at all, call me." Hopper told him.

The twins said their goodbyes as well, hugging all the boys, and promising to keep up. Finally, they packed into a car, which Riley was driving, and headed off into the setting sun.

* * *

 

That night, after the kids had gone to sleep, the rest of them gathered in the kitchen to discuss the fate of the other two kids.

Riley walked in, in middle. "Howdy."

"How did it go, they all good?"

"Yep. Good people. I hope they're fine."

They went back to the topic at hand.

"What do we do about Eleven? That's first of all." Hopper said to the room at large.

"I know she probably wants to stay with us. She really loves Mike. He was the first one to look after her." Nancy piped up.

"I know, but I just can't see it." Karen said. "I mean, I've got the baby coming, and…after everything with Mike…and everything else…" Nancy and she exchanged a look. "I just don't think I'd be able to give her what she really needs, which is a lot of love and attention."

Hopper nodded. "Completely understandable, no one blames you, Karen."

"Bill and I would be willing to take in a couple of kids, whether it's temporary or permanent." Laura said, after a moment of silence. "I…we've always wanted a larger family anyway."

"Why don't we just ask her?" Joyce said.

"Well, she'll probably just say Mike, and we'll have to tell her no…" Hopper countered.

"So, just ask her if she'd want to go to the Sinclairs. I'm sure she'll say yeah."

"Laura, you're sure about this?"

"Positive. So's Bill. And Lucas really cares about her."

"Okay, we'll ask her tomorrow. How about Eli? I don't see a breakthrough with him any time soon so it'll probably be for a while if not permanently."

Jonathan hesitated and then spoke. "I want him to stay with us. He, uh…he…" he trailed off, unable to actually finish the sentence of 'he likes me'. "If it's okay with you, mom?"

Joyce covered his hand and nodded. "Of course it is. He's so quiet and sweet, reminds me of you and Will, honestly."

Jonathan blushed. "We'll have to ask Will, though. I don't want to if he's not okay with it."

"Yeah, in the morning. But I doubt he'll mind."

"So that leaves us with Myra. She's such a mystery. I have no idea what to do with her." Hopper pressed on.

"Like I said, we could take her in." Laura said immediately.

"Please, you'll have enough to do with two traumatized kids, you don't need a third."

"I could take her." Joyce said.

"Same goes for you, Joyce. Three boys are more than enough." Hopper answered forcefully. "I'll take the kid myself, for now. She's fairly comfortable with me, though I do think she'll need a mother, we're just not at that point yet."

The meeting finished and slowly but surely, they dispersed for the night.

* * *

 

The next morning was mild, at least for late December in northern Indiana. Everyone was very quiet over breakfast. Eleven had reacted to the news by hugging Lucas in front of everyone. It was no secret how close they'd become during their time in the Compound. Mike had looked glumly at the pair of them, although he knew he was being dumb. His mom couldn't handle another kid, and Lucas lived really close by, but still…he wanted her by him. Myra had smiled shyly at Hopper when he told her, causing tears to well up in his eyes, which he quickly glossed over by making a whole show of choking on his beer. Will, of course, had said that he didn't mind and that he'd be happy to have another brother. Eli hadn't said a word, he just looked up at Jonathan with big eyes, making them wonder if he even understood what they'd said.

They got to packing up their stuff in the cars, amazed at how many things they'd amassed over the last month and a half. Some things stayed, like the air hockey table, and the sleds. They just didn't have enough room.

As the day dawned on, the kids sat despondently on the porch, watching their parents load the cars up and looking out across the fields. It had been like a vacation, away from all the hustle and bustle of real life, but they knew that it couldn't stay that way forever. The boys did miss riding around town in their bikes, and, geeks that they were, they missed learning, too. But it was still sad to leave behind the serenity of the ranch.

Nancy, Jonathan, and Riley went out to the barn and cleared it out.

"Memories, right?" Riley muttered to them, as he packed up some armored vests lying around.

"Oh yeah."

Everyone wanted to keep a gun, but Riley said he had to return the stuff, and that what did they think he was, a millionaire?

Finally, it was time to leave. Hopper did one final sweep-through of the house and locked the door on his way out.

"I'm gonna see how much the guy wants for it," Riley said, leaning against the wall. "Wouldn't it be a great place to raise horses?"

"Yeah, it would be nice." Hopper replied, dully. He too, was not in a good mood. He worried about everyone going back to Hawkins. Worried about how all the kids would do, heck, how all the adults would manage. They'd been living in a bubble, here at the ranch, blissfully ignoring everything that had happened and Hopper wondered when it would catch up to them, kids and adults alike.

They got into their cars and started the long journey back to Hawkins. It was a quiet ride, not much chatter in any of the cars. They passed the 'Welcome to Hawkins' sign, and everyone grew apprehensive. This was their home, and they did love it, it just…wasn't the same anymore.

They made their way into town, in a bit of a daze. While they were off fighting monsters and breaking into high-security compounds, and being tortured in cells, nothing had changed in Hawkins. It was a relief. Hopper pulled them all over at the police station, where they'd all set out from and they got out of their cars to stretch. Flo came racing out, seeing the convoy that had pulled up.

"Jim! You son of a gun!" she gave him a huge hug. "Well, nothing's changed, I see. Still smoking like a train. I see you brought everyone back."

Hopper smiled at her. It was good to see Flo again. She was one of the few people he had missed. After she'd gone back in, he turned to face the crowd and sighed.

"I…I think I speak for everyone here when I say it was an honor." _Goddamit, when did I become so emotional!_ "What we did, what we were up against…you guys are damn cool. I mean it, you guys are one tough gang. Uh…if any of you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, or stop in here. I'll keep you all up-to-date with what's going on. It's gonna be tough, I know. Things aren't gonna be easy for everyone. You don't do what we did and get away with it. But, you've all got one another, don't forget that. I…uh…thank you guys." It was disjointed, it was awkward, but it was from the heart, and the group appreciated it. They broke into applause, but Dustin had to ruin the moment by piping up:

"Jesus, Chief, we're not going anywhere, and we're not dying! We'll see each other all the time."

But he knew what Hopper meant. It wasn't going to be the same anymore. Everyone thanked Hopper individually, including the boys. Mike and Will, and pretty much all the girls, became teary-eyed when they did.

Then it was time for Riley to say goodbye. He cried openly; in his case, this really was the end of the road. He was finally gonna head back home to Kentucky to do whatever it was he did, they still didn't know.

"Hey, remember all of our training…everything you guys learned. It'll come in handy. Umm…I don't really know what to say. I'll come up here as often as I can, but…"

He trailed off, wiping his eyes, and Hopper clapped him on the back.

"Big tough guy, crying like a baby. Look at you." That broke the ice and they all laughed and thanked him.

Nancy hugged him tight and he patted her back. "Hey, just invite me to the wedding, whenever you and Jonathan decide to get hitched."

Nancy shook her head, but she was grinning. "I will." She said, punching him on the shoulder.

He said one final goodbye, before driving off in his car, well over the speed limit.

Now it was time for them all to go their own ways. There were hugs all around, and lots of tears. First to leave were the Hendersons, with Dustin shouting out a meeting time for the next day, through the window of the receding car.

Next went the Sinclairs, with Eleven. She pulled Mike aside, a bit emotional.

"Mike, I wish I could come to you. I like Lucas but I wish I could be with you."

"Yeah, me too El. But my mom's having a baby, so it really won't work out for her. We'll see each other every day though, you can come over whenever you want. We'll play D&D together, and we'll watch movies, remember what those are?"

"Yes. On the screen, right?" Eleven said, unsure.

"Yeah." Mike said, looking down.

After a long pause, Eleven suddenly spoke up. "I want to sleep near you, it makes me feel safe."

"I know, and it makes me calmer too. We can have sleepovers, don't worry. Either by you, Will, or by me, or even Dustin, but usually his dad doesn't let."

Eleven nodded and looked at Mike.

He looked back at her. He remembered that night in the cafeteria. He remembered them moving closer. Automatically, it seemed, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. His parents and everyone else were watching, after all.

Eleven smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you, El, you know, for bringing me back, and saving my life, yet again."

"It's over now, Mike. I can feel it. I know it is." They smiled at each other before Lucas interrupted.

"If you two lovebirds are finished now, we gotta get going."

Lucas and Eleven jumped into the backseat and the Sinclairs were off. Now it was just down to the Wheelers and Byers. The original two.

While Karen and Joyce said their farewells, Nancy pulled Jonathan behind the Chief's car.

"Hey." She said, not letting go of his hand. She knew she was being flirty, but it was fun with Jonathan. She liked seeing his bashful, nervous responses.

"Hi," he said lamely.

"Is that it? After everything, is that all you could muster?" Nancy joked.

"I plan on seeing you every day. We can talk about things then." He said seriously.

"Yeah, same here."

They went quiet for a moment. They'd grown so much closer at the ranch and were thankful for it.

Eventually Jonathan pressed a light kiss to her lips. "I'll see you, Nancy. Call me if you need anything."

"Is that all you're gonna give me?" Nancy asked, disappointed.

"Yeah, Mike and Will are watching." He countered, gesturing over her head, where the boys were doing a bad job of hiding.

"Bastards." Nancy shook her head and they rejoined the rest of the group.

After Mike and Will said goodbye, the Wheelers were off, leaving Hopper and Myra with the Byers.

Jonathan saw Joyce and Hopper exchange a glance and he pulled Will and Eli away from them, walking a ways off.

Joyce looked up at him, so serious and dark. "Jim…" she shook her head. "You…you know you saved my life. It wasn't just those kids you rescued, because without them, there…we wouldn't have been okay."

Hopper looked down at her and was overcome by a sudden rush of affection, which he refused to act on. "Joyce, it was the least I could do."

"No! No, it wasn't!" She said, indignantly. "You know very well that what you did was not normal. You went above and beyond, you protected all of us, you…you were ready to give up your life for this. Don't think I don't know. You were planning on taking the fall, if things didn't work out. I know you were."

Hopper was quiet. "Well, I can't hide from you, Joyce."

"You have no idea what it means to us, Hopper. To me, to Jonathan…Will. Thank you…that's all I can say, but I know I can never say it enough times."

She threw her arms around him and he held her as she cried. It was a solid couple of minutes before they pulled apart.

"You know, you're welcome at our place, at any time. Bring Myra too." He nodded and looked away.

She called the boys back and with one final 'thank you', they were off.

Hopper stared after the car, his mind back on the day of the infiltration, standing in the rain. But he was brought back to the present by a tug on his hand.

"Jim." Myra said. He had told her to call him that. It made things easier. "Where do we go?"

"Oh, honey. We're going home to my place. Come on."

He led her to his car and buckled her in. As he drove, he kept looking over at the little girl beside him. _Things aren't over for me, they've only just started_.

There were tough times ahead for all of them.

 

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! Hope you liked!


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